Broken
by Wildfire2345
Summary: What will the new Head Boy and Girl have to go through in their seventh year? Read to find out! RATED T, NOT M! My computer won't seem to let me change the rating.
1. Chapter 1

_Caught in the Moment_

_When something threatens to destroy everything she loves, she will fight to the end to stop it._

_A.N. – this is my first fanfic ever! I've already got it partially finished and unfortunately there are only about twelve chapters (so far, it'll get longer), but they're really long. It shouldn't take too long to update but it might take a little longer to answer your reviews because I'm doing this all through my cousin (who also wrote 'Sara's Niece' – CSI – check it out!). Someone hacked into our system at my house so my parents decided to get rid of our internet – SCREAMS! In order to get my story on I had to give it to my cousin. Hope you enjoy it! Read & review!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything that you'll recognize. Dah._

1**Chapter One**

"_Lily!_" shrieked Petunia, flailing her arms madly in a sad attempt of ridding herself of the tawny barn owl that had since extracted itself from the confusion and settled in on the deserted shelf above the clock, watching curiously as Petunia continued to shout for help. Lily, who had come hurtling down the stairs two-at-a-time, afraid her sister was in real danger, stood in the doorway with a hand on her hip and a frown curving her lips downward.

"Lily!" Petunia shrilled when she spotted her sister. "Lily, get that wretched thing away from me!" The owl, still a considerable distance away on the shelf, turned toward Lily and blinked.

"Petunia, it's nowhere near you," Lily pointed out in a voice of forced calm. "Now if you'll just calm down and stop carrying on as if you're being murdered before one of the neighbors phone the police." Though Lily knew none of the neighbors would, she also knew that the one thing her sister held in utmost importance was the image she held with the neighbors as a _normal_, everyday, regular-old-ordinary daughter. Petunia quieted.

Petunia pointed a long white finger in the animal's direction, her watery blue eyes wide with fear and suppressed anger. "That thing almost killed me! It came at me with its razor sharp claws and started digging into my shoulder! Look —" Petunia revealed to Lily her exposed shoulder, where Lily could barely see a faint red scratch. Had Petunia been any darker, rather than that eerie white, Lily doubted whether the wound would have been visible at all.

"I demand that animal be taken to the vet's and put down immediately," Petunia concluded pompously.

Lily took offense at those words. "Petunia, what would the vet say if I walked into the clinic with an _owl?_ Besides, you're not seriously injured, are you?" Petunia opened her mouth to respond, but Lily cut her off. "Then why make the poor thing suffer? She's only a baby, after all."

"A dangerous baby! That horrid beast almost tore my arm apart —"

"I'm sure she did," Lily soothed, fighting not to roll her eyes lest the action increase Petunia's anger, "but I hold it on the best of authority that you'll survive the encounter."

Petunia must have noticed the subtle trace of sarcasm in Lily's voice, for she gave a wordless scream of fury and exited the living room in a huff. Lily rubbed her palm against her forehead as soon as Petunia was out of sight and sighed, disbelieving. _Sisters._

"Well, Lollipop," said Lily, suddenly stern. "Do you have a letter for me?"

_You had better, _thought Lily, _after all the trouble you just got me in. _Lily knew she had a lot of explaining to do, doubtless as it was that Petunia had gone crying to Mrs. Evans that Lily had been teasing her for her deadly phobia of birds. Not that Petunia was scared of foul; it was just another ploy to make Lily look like the worse of the two for owning one.

The owl swept gracefully from its perch and landed on Lily's shoulder, obediently holding out a talon. Attached to the claw was a letter, addressed to Lily, which the girl hastily untied. Ripping open the envelope she pulled from inside a thinner piece of parchment, which she unfolded and read.

It said:

_Dear Lily,_

_To answer your first question: yes, there have been more attacks. To answer your second: no, none of the victims' names are familiar to me, though mum and dad knew a few of the Aurors who died. Mum said to ask whether you had received the instructional packet the Ministry sent out, and told me to tell you what it said in case you hadn't. But we'll just save that for another day, okay?_

_Everyone is panicking. I haven't seen people this confused . . . well, ever. They're all convinced they will be attacked next, and most have either gone into hiding or locked themselves up in their homes and refuse to come out. The old witch up the street from my house barricaded herself inside and absolutely to unblock it, even when the Minister of Magic herself told her there was nothing to worry about. It's a lie, of course, as there's plenty to be worried about._

_I'm worried sick about my parents. They leave for work more often nowadays, and they're gone for days on end. I'm in constant panic, wondering if someone will show up with my mum's arm in a miniature little casket, my dad's right leg in its own little wooden box . . . Oh gosh! I don't think I can stand the prospect of them leaving me anymore. Not to mention the fact that I'm here in this gigantic mansion alone most of the time when they leave. I'd be practically powerless against these maniacs! I haven't even graduated school yet! Oh, Lily!_

_How's life in muggle-world? Petunia any better? _

_Please write back as quickly as possible,_

_Alice_

Lily read Alice's letter over again, not entirely sure what to make of it. Alice Chambers was one of Lily's best friends from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the school Lily attended for most of the year. Alice came from a long line of pureblood magicfolk, so she had been introduced to magic before Lily had ever entertained the idea. Although a very talented witch, Alice had the worst memory of anyone Lily had ever met.

But for Alice to sound this distressed, something had to be really wrong. Lily vaguely recalled a few students mentioning an article or two in the _Daily Prophet_ (the Wizarding newspaper) about raids, but nothing had ever been this serious.

Alice's letter, usually a source of comfort and reliever of any homesick feelings Lily had for the Wizarding world, did nothing but shift Lily's mood to one of paranoia and worthlessness. Lily couldn't help but feel useless, sitting here brooding over petty arguments with Petunia while people were dying.

_What use am I? _Lily thought miserably. _Like Alice said, I haven't even graduated school yet. What use will I be in the real world, when people will need my help? I won't be able to help them. I can't even help one of my best friends when she's worried like this._

Lily was broken out of her reverie by loud wail, followed by a shout, emitting from the kitchen.

"LILY!" Lily cringed. She knew when her mother used that tone of voice it meant nothing good for the person she was using it with.

Slowly, Lily raised herself from the couch and slunk down the hallway to the kitchen where Mrs. Evans spent every afternoon. Her steps slowed to a stop outside the doorway, but she knew it wasn't wise to test her mother's patience. Steeling herself, she swung open the door.

The kitchen was a rather cheery place, with sunlight streaming in through the lace curtains and bathing the room in a bright glow. The polished countertops gleamed in the sunshine.

Lily spotted Mrs. Evans sitting in a chair, Petunia on her lap as she rubbed her daughter's back and whispered comforts in her ear. Mrs. Evans shot Lily a reproving glance as Lily awkwardly took a seat on the opposite side of the room and shifted self-consciously.

"Lily," Mrs. Evans began, "did you call your sister a name?"

Petunia caught Lily's eye between huge fake sobs and grinned nastily.

"No!" Lily exclaimed incredulously, looking between her mother and sister. She had the sudden temptation to give Petunia good slap and reprimand her for acting so childishly.

"She did!" Petunia cried dramatically in between sniffs. "She – she saw me with that _creature_ and just exploded in laughter! Then she called me a fool and said I didn't – didn't . . ." Petunia let out a loud cry and buried her face in Mrs. Evans shoulder.

"Mum," started Lily, "I swear I didn't —"

Lily locked eyes with her mother. Lily had inherited her mother's brilliant green eyes, and it was amazing how penetrating they seemed to be now as each stared directly into the other's soul.

Mrs. Evans spoke up tentatively, "Petunia, perhaps you misunderstood your sister's meaning —"

"I knew you'd side with her!" Petunia whined, her shoulders heaving as false sobs wrung her body. "You _always_ side with her!"

"I'm not siding with anyone."

"Are you going to punish her?" demanded Petunia at once.

Mrs. Evans sighed. "Seeing as this is her first offense —"

"I knew it! I just knew it!"

Lily gaped at her sister, too shocked to say anything. It wasn't as if outbursts such as this weren't normal happenings, as they were, but Lily simply didn't understand her sister's logic. Since when had anyone sided with Lily?

"What would you have me do, Petunia?" Mrs. Evans inquired impatiently.

Petunia smirked smugly. "I say Lily should be confined to her room until tomorrow morning."

_What!_

Mrs. Evans turned to Lily. "Do you agree with that punishment?"

"No," Lily said, "as I didn't do anything I should be punished for."

"Petunia, could you please go to your room for a moment while I have a little discussion with Lily?"

Petunia's eyes widened as she looked irately at Mrs. Evans. She let out a loud sob, threw her hands in the air, and ran out of the room.

"Sometimes I worry about her," mumbled Mrs. Evans, shaking her head. "You think about what she'll be like when she's off on her own, and it causes you to worry."

Lily noticed for the first time how old and vulnerable her mother appeared, and an involuntary shudder shot up her spine. It was unnerving seeing her willful, stubborn mom so . . . helpless. Lily began to wonder if Mrs. Evans had been sleeping well; there were large purple bags beneath her eyes and her face was drawn and worn, her hair dull and stringy and void of its normal sheen.

Mrs. Evans turned her defeated stare to Lily. "I do hope you'll turn out alright, Lily," she said with a wistful smile. "You always have been capable of dealing with your own problems, haven't you?"

Lily didn't know what to say, so she simply kept quiet and let her mother continue.

"You know what would please me more than anything in the world, Lily?" Mrs. Evans grinned wearily at her youngest daughter. "To meet the man you marry."

Lily flushed. "Mum, that's a long step off . . ."

"No, it's not. You're of age, you're beautiful," Lily blushed, but Mrs. Evans ignored it as she ranted, "and any boy who wouldn't go after you must either be blind or completely ignorant. But I trust you to choose the _right_ boy, one who will love you for you and not just because you are lovely. And when you do find him, I would like to meet him."

"Alright, mum," Lily consented. _Poor mum, _Lily thought sadly. She didn't want to disappoint her mother, but she knew it was nearly impossible to find Prince Charming. She had already searched, without any result.

"I know what you're thinking," Mrs. Evans said suddenly. "And don't. You never know when you'll find him. He could be right under your nose, someone you had never thought about before, or someone you had ignored. Or he could be out there right now in the most obvious of places, just waiting to find Cinderella."

--

Lily stepped cautiously into the attic bedroom she shared with Petunia and glanced around. The horse-faced girl was on the other side of the room on her mattress, staring out through the window at the back garden.

Lily tried not to make her presence known as she tiptoed to her bed and lay down.

"It's funny, isn't it," said Petunia without looking away from the window. "How much you loathe childhood when you're a child. All you want is to be an adult, off on your own, free of any authority or attachment to your past."

Lily sat in a stunned stupor, listening. She knew her sister was right. She had felt the same way as a child, but now, as an adult, things were so different.

Petunia sighed. "Sometimes, all you ever dream about is being a kid again, dressing your little sister in old floral dresses and watching her smear lipstick all over her face." Petunia sniffed, and Lily felt tears pricking at her eyes. "But then again, dreams change as you grow older and you meet . . . new people . . ."

Lily left her position and joined Petunia's side, wrapping an arm around her sister's shoulders.

"You've always been my big sister, Petunia," Lily whispered. "Nothing could every change that. Nothing. Not an argument, not our differences, not anything. You understand that, right?"

Petunia slowly nodded, then turned to look Lily in the eye. Petunia's watery blue stare searched Lily's own, as though looking for something, before quickly averting her gaze to the floor.

"There are some things," Petunia whispered.

Lily tried not to let her confusion show. "Petunia, you know I'll always be there for you."

Petunia sniffled. Rising from her seat, she moved toward her dresser and pulled from the top drawer a piece of blue satin cloth. With fumbling fingers Petunia pulled back the corners.

"Oh my . . . Petunia . . ." Lily breathed, staring at the item in Petunia's palm. It was a ring. A thin band of gold, inset with many tiny jewels and one large diamond right in the center.

"See?" Petunia said. "There are . . . there are some things that can tear us apart."

Lily glanced up at her sister's hesitant expression. "Petunia," she said in a daze. "Petunia, you're getting married! When can I meet him?"

"Do you want to meet him?" Petunia looked hopefully up at Lily.

"Of course!"

"Be quiet," Petunia implored, her smile faltering. "Mom and dad don't know."

"You haven't told them?" Lily questioned, raising her eyebrows.

Petunia shook her head. "I was planning on telling them tomorrow at dinner."

"Can I come?" Lily bit her lip, not entirely sure she wanted to hear the answer.

"We'll see."

A.N. – well? What did you think? Good? Constructive criticism is appreciated – review!


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks all the people who reviewed 

**Chapter Two**

"Lily! Hurry up!"

Lily sighed, exasperated, and cursed herself (not for the first time that day) for making the hasty decision to accompany her family and that Dursley-character to dinner. It had been nothing but trouble since she'd awaken that morning. First, Lily realized that she'd had nothing to wear — and, according to Petunia, this was a very exclusive restaurant where elegant dress was required — and had needed to conjure one up from thin air. The dress hadn't fit exactly right when she'd tried it on and she'd had to make the necessary adjustments. Then, her hair wouldn't fall quite right when she attempted to brush the snarls that had accumulated overnight in her shoulder-length right hair.

But all these problems seemed trivial compared to this one.

"_Lily_!"

"I'm coming!" Lily shouted down the stairs to her sister. Lollipop fluttered helplessly in her cage, hardly able to lift a wing. "It'll be alright, Lolly," Lily reassured the bird for the umpteenth time that night. "If you aren't any better by the time I get home, I'll write to Molly and ask if she's read about any remedies. Okay?" Lollipop's wings gave one last flutter and the bird fell the bottom of the cage, apparently fast asleep.

"Lily, we're leaving!"

"_I am coming!"_ Lily hurried over to the mirror on her wall and peered into it once last time, checking to make sure every hair was in place. It wasn't a complex hairdo — in fact, she'd only pulled it back into a single ponytail and let it hang. Elegant, yet simple.

"Lil-li-an!"

Lily cast a final glance at her owl, bid her farewell, and sprinted down the stairs.

--

"Where are we supposed to go?" Mr. Evans asked, glancing over the map that Mrs. Evans had unfolded and laid across the dashboard.

"Just keep going straight," Petunia said after she'd gotten a good look out the window. "I'll point his house out to you when we get there."

"Matt," said Mrs. Evans, "I thought you'd already driven Petunia?"

Mr. Evans kept his eyes glued on the road ahead and said nothing.

"Matt?" Silence.

"Matthew Evans, you answer me this instant!" Mrs. Evans demanded. Lily and Petunia exchanged a fearful glance; they both knew that tone only too well.

Mr. Evans seemed to sense danger too, for he muttered something incoherent underneath his breath. Mrs. Evans had heard him, though, and she shouted, "You let _Petunia _drive?!" Petunia looked down quickly and blushed. She wasn't, by anyone's standards, the greatest driver in the world.

--

"This is it," said Petunia, her voice raised so as to be heard over the hubbub of the argument taking place in the front seats. "_Dad!_ Dad, stop, pull in!"

Lily wiped a patch clean on the foggy window and pressed her nose against it, unable to see out into the dark night otherwise. She felt her heart sink into her stomach as she observed an immaculately groomed lawn that appeared almost identical to its neighboring lawns and a perfect little flower garden beside a small white house. Exactly the kind of place Petunia would live. _Oh no,_ Lily thought, apprehension creeping into her mind. She didn't know if she could survive two Petunias in the same family.

"This is where he lives?" Mrs. Evans asked. She, too, was peering out the window.

"Yeah," Petunia replied dreamily, her eyes glazed over.

A figure stumbled clumsily out of the door of the house and into the driveway. Lily might have mistaken him as an overly inflated balloon had his purple face not been looking distinctly uncomfortable squeezed into a tightly buttoned white shirt. Mr. Evans hastily rolled down his window as the figure drew closer to the car.

"Excuse me, sir, would you be kind enough to point me in the direction of the home of Victor Dursley?"

"Oh, dad!" Petunia squealed, blushing. "_Vernon _Dursley! And of course it would be, that's him you're talking to!"

Lily shoved her fist in her mouth in an effort to keep from snorting at the expression on Mr. Evans' face.

"Oh," said Mr. Evans, flushing red. "Well, in that case, whose car are we taking?"

"Yours, Mr. Evans," the big beefy boy responded in a grunt. "My parents had to use the family car tonight." Vernon glanced around the car. "Um, is there any room for, er, me in there?"

Lily, thinking it would be courteous and wanting to start of relations with her future brother-in-law on a good note, slid out of the car and held the door open for Vernon, offering him room between Petunia and herself. Vernon's beady black eyes swept over Lily and caught in a few places, causing Lily to squirm uncomfortably and her cheeks to burn.

When Vernon had settled in and gotten comfortable, Lily attempted to climb back into her original place beside the window. That was a lost cause. Vernon's bulk had taken up Lily's entire side of the backseat, and there was simply no available room.

Lily cleared her throat and caught her sister's attention. "Petunia, I've got no room to sit . . ."

--

Mrs. Evans leaned toward Lily conspiratorially and whispered, her voice barely audible above Petunia's giggles, "I wonder if they'll ever stop. Your father looks like he's about to deck someone."

Sure enough, Mr. Evans was clutching the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles had turned white, though he mustn't have noticed as he glared furiously at the black pavement of the road ahead as though it instead were the cause of his anger. Petunia and Vernon weren't helping the matter either, wrapped up in each other's arms. Petunia was sitting on Vernon's lap (there would have been no room for Lily had she not), and had been giggling flirtatiously since Mr. Evans had pulled out of the drive.

Lily hoped Mr. Evans would be more understand of _her _boyfriends if she brought any home to fulfill her mother's wish. Lily doubted it would happen, but she resolved to look, for Mrs. Evans' sake.

"He'll get used to it someday," Mrs. Evans whispered. "At least, I hope he will."

Lily leaned toward her mother. "Was your dad ever like this?" She asked.

Mrs. Evans smirked. "Are you kidding? My dad _hated _Matt. I suppose he simply couldn't adjust to the idea right then. I suppose all dads are like that with their daughters."

Lily shrugged and settled back against the seat. She really hoped Petunia stopped making that awful giggling noise soon: it was making Lily nauseous just listening to it.

--

Lily jerked awake as the car came to an abrupt halt. Doors were opening and her family was filing out, but Lily felt perfectly contented just to sit where she was and fall asleep again. Apparently, it too was a lost cause.

"Honey, we're here," came Mrs. Evans gentle voice. "Wake up, Lil."

"I'm awake," she mumbled groggily, rubbing at her eyes with the back of her hands. "Just give me five more minutes." She began to drift off again.

"Nonsense, Lily," Mrs. Evans said in her most no-nonsense voice. "Your sister and Vernon and your father are all waiting for you."

Ever so slowly Lily left her comfortably warm seat in the car and stood up, stretching, and smoothed the wrinkles in her black dress. Mrs. Evans was waiting for her, Lily noticed once her vision had cleared. Her mother had dressed in a pressed white blouse and a blue, flower-patterned skirt, which was presently floating gently on the breeze.

"You could've told them to go on without me," said Lily. She didn't want to look at Vernon after what had happened when she'd gotten out of the car to let him in. Mrs. Evans shook her head, exasperated.

The restaurant looked extremely high-class from the outside, and Lily was beginning to wonder whether she was important enough to answer. The building was only two-stories high and candlelight shone romantically from each of the dozens of windows. There was no red carpet leading to the entrance, which Lily was thankful for (they certainly would have kicked her out of a place like _that_), but it had a touch of elegance that seemed just right.

Lily found Petunia, Vernon, and Mr. Evans waiting at the entrance of the building. She waved when she saw them, taking hold of her mother's hand and leading her to the huge glass doors. Petunia fixed Lily with a cold glare, punishment, Lily assumed, for making them all wait while she rid herself of the last vestiges of slumber. Lily was too used to such treatment to care much, however.

A tiny man clad in a red uniform with yellow buttons leading up the front and an outrageous-looking red cap to match the funny uniform opened the doors for them to pass through. Lily felt very special indeed.

"A table for five, please," Vernon was saying to the waitress at the front desk, but Lily wasn't paying them any attention. No, her attention was captured instead by the beautiful crystal chandeliers that hung down from the high (but not too high) ceiling and the neat little table settings, where there had been sat a fresh rose in a vase and a single lit candle.

The waitress led their group to a little booth in the corner surrounded partially by windows, a feature Lily was delighted about as she could look out the window into the beautiful starlit sky every now and again. Everyone settled into their seats; Lily made sure to get one beside the window.

"This is a nice place you've taken us to, Vernon," said Mrs. Evans cordially, looking around at the restaurant. "We'd never be able to afford such a place." Vernon smiled (Lily inwardly cringed, as it was a horrible sight), while Petunia blushed scarlet.

Lily glanced over the menu, which had been laid before her, when she noticed there was something wrong with the writing. Upon closer inspection she concluded that it must have been French.

"Can anyone here reach French?" Lily asked. She had never had the option to study it at her school, Hogwarts. Though she could understand Gobbledygook quite well.

Vernon nodded his massive head. "I can," he said, and took the menu from Lily's hand. "They have all kinds of soups —"

"Do they have clam chowder?" Lily interrupted eagerly. Vernon frowned at her show of rudeness until Lily began to blush beneath his piercing gaze. His eyes scanned the paper and he slowly nodded his head.

"Yes," he said, "but surely you'll want something more expensive. Clam chowder isn't exactly the in-thing now."

_Well, _Lily thought, _it's the 'in-thing' in my world. _That was persuasive enough reasoning for Lily.

"It's alright," said Lily. "I don't want to make you spend a lot of money — hold on, how 'bout I pay for my own?" Lily reached for her purse and pulled from it a crisp twenty-pound note. Vernon made no move to object.

"So, Vernon," Mrs. Evans said after they had all ordered and were waiting for the arrival of their food. "What do you plan on doing when you get older?"

Vernon grunted, "I want to own my own business." Mrs. Evans nodded in approval.

"He went to Smeltings — the school just up the road from mine," said Petunia. "Tell them about it, Vernon."

Lily sat staring out the window for the longest time as Vernon bored her with an endless talk of school — Mr. and Mrs. Evans were trying to be nice and pay attention but they too were drifting off. Petunia was paying avid attention, clinging to his every word and soaking up every new bit of information.

". . . and then Henry tried to smack me with his Smeltings stick and I got to him first . . ."

". . . Professor said there'd be a dance and everyone was supposed to get a partner . . ."

Finally Lily's salvation from Vernon's speech came in the form of their food. As the waitress set Lily's steaming bowl of chowder before her, she dove in happily and had finished the bowl before her mother had even taken a bite of her . . . well, they all thought it was seafood, anyway.

Vernon cleared his throat nervously and caught the attention of everyone at the table. He and Petunia exchanged a fearful glance as Vernon opened his mouth to speak. "Um, Mr. Evans?"

Mr. Evans had gone very still. Barely moving his mouth, he said, "Yes?"

"Er, well, you see, I — I — I love your daughter." Mr. Evans appeared strangely unaffected by this information. "I love her and I asked her to marry me." Again, no reaction. "She said yes."

At those last words Mr. Evans pushed his chair very noisily away from the table, stood, took hold of Mrs. Evans's arm, and motioned for Lily to follow him as he headed for the exit.

"Oh, Matthew!" Mrs. Evans exclaimed. "Don't do this! Give them time to work it out! They're young, they didn't know what they were doing!"

Lily couldn't see what was so horrible about Petunia marrying Vernon. Petunia was of age now and certainly favored the marriage, so what was the problem?

"Mum, I don't understand," said Lily. "Petunia knew very well what she was doing."

Mrs. Evans glanced at her daughter. "No," she said, "you _don't _understand." And she ran to catch up with Mr. Evans.

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	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

Groggily, Lily opened her eyes. Morning had dawned already, and golden wisps of early morning sunlight had bathed her bedroom in a surreal glow. Someone was knocking on the door.

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

Lily grumbled. Who on earth would be knocking on her bedroom door this early in the morning?

_Tap. Tap._

"Okay, okay, I'm getting up." Lily threw the warm blankets off of her, before grabbing them and again clutching them close to her chest as the cold air stung her exposed skin. "Or not."

_Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap._

The noise was really starting to get annoying. Lily knew it wasn't Petunia — her sister hadn't been seen since the fiasco at the diner. It couldn't have been Mrs. Evans either, as the woman made it a point to make herself comfortable anywhere she went. She'd have walked right in without warning. And it certainly wasn't Mr. Evans (he hadn't spoken a word to anyone since Petunia's disappearance). So then, who was knocking?

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

"Could you just hold on a minute please?" The tapping continued. _They're awfully persistent,_ Lily thought to herself, deciding the only way to stop the infernal racket would be to get up herself and open the door for them.

Lily slowly removed the quilt and tried to ignore the bitter chill as she rose and began her trek across the room to the door against the protests of her tired body. She flicked on the light and opened the door and saw absolutely nothing other than a darkened, deserted hall.

_That's weird._ The noise hadn't ceased; in fact, it was growing louder with each passing moment that Lily failed to find the source. She looked around her bedroom, only to find a few scattered candy wrappers and books that had been strewn carelessly across the floor (she hadn't a bookshelf in her room and hadn't felt much like traveling all the way to her school trunk to store her books in an organized fashion).

Then reasoning dawned. _Of course, _Lily thought, berating herself for overlooking the obvious. She scurried over to the window, pulled up the shade, and set eyes on the perpetrator. It was what looked like a small bundle of gray feathers, a piece of parchment clasped in the beak that it was banging against the windowpane. Lily recognized it only as an unfamiliar owl, but she quickly unlatched the window regardless and pried it open. The owl flew into her bedroom and landed beside Lollipop's cage, strutting its wings importantly as it held the letter out to Lily.

_Oh my gosh! _Lily's mind screamed when she flipped over the envelope — _and found the Hogwarts crest._

She hardly dared to believe it. _Don't get your hopes up, _her brain advised. _You never know, it may just be your list of supplies._

There was one miserable moment when Lily was tempted to go along with this, the more logical chain of thinking, but all negative thoughts dissipated as quickly as steam into the air when she noticed an uncharacteristic bulge in the letter.

Tired of guessing at the contents, Lily tore eagerly into the envelope.

"YES!" she couldn't help shrieking when she pulled from the mailer a shiny golden badge that read "HEAD GIRL" in huge letters.

_Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! YES! _

She stared in disbelief and shock at the object in her palm. It seemed too wonderful to be true. Certainly, she had dreamt of holding this letter, but even in her wildest fantasies she had never imagined that someday it might be real.

In a daze she reached inside the envelope and pulled from it a thinner piece of parchment. It read:

_Dear Miss Evans,_

_I am very pleased to be the first to congratulate you on your appointment as head girl for this year. Throughout the seven years you have attended this school you have shown a remarkable aptitude for the responsibilities at hand and the Hogwarts staff agrees with my assessment that you will make a capable head girl and prove to be an exceptional role model for the younger students. _

_Your tasks will include such duties as arranging and attending prefect meetings (which are held once every month), arranging and attending head meetings, supervising Hogsmeade visits, and keeping the student body under reasonable control with the head boy. It is mandatory for you to attend the prefect meeting on the Hogwarts Express, where you will meet with the head boy to explain to the prefects their duties during their fifth and sixth years. _

_I do hope you accept your new position and are as delighted as everyone here at your new status as head girl. _

_Yours truly,_

_Professor Albus Dumbledore_

Lily read the letter through three times in quick succession, a new feeling of elated jubilance sweeping over her. She had made it. She, mudblood Evans, was the new head girl of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!

The other two slips of paper were much less surprising: the lists of school supplies and books she would need for the new year. She read over the list and felt a slight sinking sensation; how would she _ever_ come up with enough money to buy all these books?

But Lily didn't dwell too long on this financial difficulty; she would deal with that when the time came. For now, she was content simply to sit in the dim light of her bedroom and stare at her new head girl badge.

--

"Hello, dear," greeted Mrs. Evans as Lily walked into the kitchen, her green, almond-shaped eyes bright and lively and brimming with excitement and her face devoid of the regular signs of a non-morning person. Lily felt as though she had been awake for hours (which probably wasn't far from the truth), but it hadn't seemed to bother her as much as it usual would have. "Did you have a good morning?"

"Delightful, mum," responded Lily in a chipper tone, another suspicious characteristic. "I actually have some wonderful news, but I was planning on telling both you and dad at the same time. So I'll just wait 'til he comes down for breakfast."

Mrs. Evans chewed her lip, her eyes darting nervously from the doorway back to Lily.

"What's the matter mum?" Lily asked, completely at a loss as to the reasoning behind Mrs. Evans' apprehension. Instinctively she turned around to glance at the door as well, but no one was there.

"Nothing," said Mrs. Evans unconvincingly. Then she sighed. "Okay, you caught me. Your father went to work earlier this morning and won't be back until later." Mr. Evans worked as a teller for a bank.

Lily stared suspiciously at her mother for a moment. _Why was she so hesitant to tell me that? I know dad has to go to work. _

"That's fine," said Lily. "I suppose I'll just tell you now; I don't feel much like waiting this early in the morning." She handed Mrs. Evans the immaculately folded letter, written in green ink, that she had tucked in her pocket.

Mrs. Evans' eyes grew larger as they traveled down the page, before glancing up at Lily's awkward smile.

"Well? What d'you think?"

Mrs. Evans' face lit up as she smiled. "Head girl!" she cried rapturously, capturing Lily in a fierce hug. "I can't believe it! Oh, Matt will be so delighted! My baby Lily _ head girl of her entire school!_" Mrs. Evans sighed happily. "My little girl."

Lily blushed slightly at her mother's description, but had to grin at Mrs. Evans' show of enthusiasm.

"So," said Lily after a few minutes, "dad went into work early? When'll he be getting back?"

"Later than usual, I suppose. Probably aiming more for nine o'clock."

Lily gasped as her eyes sought out Mrs. Evans' watch. "But it's only six in the morning!Dad had to have gone in at four or something!"

"Three," Mrs. Evans corrected, calmly taking a sip of her morning tea.

"Three!" Lily exclaimed incredulously. She couldn't even fathom how anyone could wake up that earlier, intentionally, to go to work _before it was necessary to be there. _It made no sense to Lily at all, the same Lily who if given the chance would gladly sleep away nine years of her life, wake up, and continue the day as though nothing were unusual.

"Yes. He finished everything he had to do and has been coming home earlier than usual for the past few days. I suppose his boss has given him some more work, and he went in before his shift began in order to compensate for lost time."

"But three in the morning!"

Mrs. Evans shot Lily a quelling look, and Lily instantly quieted.

"Now the question is: What are we going to do to celebrate your new achievement?" Mrs. Evans said.

Lily flushed. "Mum, I don't need anything." Her parents were not poor, but she knew they were not made of money and had been facing some financial dilemmas lately. "Really. Just knowing that I've made it, that's as much of a reward as I need."

Mrs. Evans smiled sadly at her daughter, though why the sadness was present Lily did not know.

"Nonetheless, Lily, you deserve something to commemorate the event."

"I don't need "

"I know you don't _need_ anything, Lily," said Mrs. Evans impatiently. "But if we survived only on what we _needed_, what fun would that be?"

Lily knew no matter what she did in protest her mother would find someway around it. So, sighing, she complied. "Fine. What is it you have in mind?"

"Whatever you want, dear. What do you say to a roller-skating party?"

As much as Lily loved the sport, she couldn't shake from her mind the incident when she fallen on those "infernal contraptions" (as her grandmother had so lovingly dubbed them) and broken her elbow. That was before she knew she was a witch, so she hadn't had the option of using magic to repair the injury — she would have needed a Healer for that kind of bone repair anyhow — and had spent two good months of her life with her arm that stupid, useless cast. She shook her head.

"Very well then," said Mrs. Evans cheerfully, not at all put out by Lily's refusal. "How 'bout a shopping spree? Just the two of us, you and me, spending the entire day doing nothing but shopping."

"That sounds fun," Lily replied earnestly. Lily couldn't remember the last time she had done some shopping, especially when it was just her and her mother. "But doesn't it sound a bit trivial? I mean, with everything going on . . . Petunia just informed us that she's getting married to someone at least _I_ don't know, dad's distancing himself from the rest of the family . . . Shopping, it just doesn't sound like something we should be worrying about right now." She neglected to mention the ever-growing threat of You-Know-Who . . .

Mrs. Evans smirked. "Even more of a reason why we _should_ go shopping. Sometimes the smallest of gestures can make all the difference."

"I suppose . . ."

--

The next few days passed fairly uneventfully. Mrs. Evans and Lily had their shopping excursion, and Lily hadn't had that much fun in ages. Despite her concerns of her parents' dwindling monetary supply she still unloaded from the trunk of the car four bags of clothing and one bag of books (it had taken some persuasion, but Mrs. Evans had finally conceded to leave her favorite clothing store behind to visit the bookstore).

Lily knew there were much more pressing matters at hand that should have consumed her train of thought, but she'd had a lot of fun. It was nice to forget about everything and simply have a day where she could just enjoy being a teenage girl.

Mr. Evans appeared to finally have accepted Petunia's engagement. He was on speaking terms with the rest of his family once more, a fact for which Lily was grateful: She had missed him and had become increasingly concerned with his withdrawal.

There were now four more days until Lily would leave for King's Cross Station, where she would board the train that would then take her to her last year of school.

_My last year, _Lily thought nostalgically as flashes of her time at Hogwarts roused in her memory. She loved the castle like a second home and couldn't even imagine what it would be like to leave it behind. Part of her wondered whether she would find a substitute for the castle when she graduated, but another dismissed it as wishful thinking. Nothing could ever replace it, with its many secret tunnels and mysteries; the professors, stern Professor McGonagall, who taught transfiguration, the Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, the charms teacher, Professor Flitwick, Professor Binns, Hagrid (the groundskeeper), Professor Bud. She missed it so much that her stomach churned at the mere thought of having to leave it behind completely.

The feeling was familiar. It was akin to the one she had experienced the first day she had stepped through Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, when her tiny self had been so repulsed by the idea of abandoning the home of her childhood. Lily had protested stringently, and it had taken the combined efforts of Mrs. Evans, Mr. Evans, and even her grandmother to coax Lily into going. And she had only left with the promise that she would come home as soon as possible if she didn't like it.

But instead of a world of strange faces and curious stares (though she did receive several), she found a world of magic and mystery, one that she was now dreading to leave.

_Maybe mum is right. Maybe I will find somebody, fall for him and get married, have children, raise them, send them off to Hogwarts . . ._ But the concept of children and husbands and marriages sounded so bizarre to Lily that she laughed mirthlessly and settled back to her previous chore of brooding over her departure.

"Lily?" Mrs. Evans anxious voice floated up the narrow attic stairs. "Lily, there's an owl down here for you."

Puzzled, Lily made her way downstairs into the living room where Mr. Evans stood awkwardly, an unfamiliar owl perched on his outstretched arm.

"Lily, would you get this off of me now?" he asked in a strained tone, eyeing the bird. "I was just standing here, and this thing comes over and decides to sit on me."

Lily frowned. Why hadn't the owl known to come to her bedroom window? And why didn't she recognize it? For a moment Lily's mind juggled the possibility that it was another Hogwarts letter, telling her that they had made a mistake and she was no longer head girl, but she shook the thought off.

"Come here, girl," said Lily softly as the owl switched positions from Mr. Evans' arm to her own. "What've you got there?"

She pried the letter from the bird's talons. Glancing uncertainly up at her parents, she opened it and read the hastily scribbled missive.

_The plans are almost completed, Master. We have our forces in position and are ready to strike at your command. Please send the signal whenever you are ready, my Lord._

Lily stared at it for a moment. She didn't recognize the handwriting, but she was certain that it wasn't intended for her. No one had ever called her "Master" or "my Lord", not that she would have allowed them had anyone even thought about it.

What did it mean? What plans? What forces? What strike?

"Good news, I hope," said Mrs. Evans after a moment's silence.

Lily looked up at her parents. _Should I tell them?_

_No. They wouldn't have any idea what was going on any more than you do, and you have the advantage of knowledge of the Wizarding World. _

Lily forced a smile on her face and hoped it didn't look as fake as it felt. "Yeah," she said, tucking the slip of paper inside the pocket of her jeans. "Yeah, um, my friend, Emma. She and her parents visited France for the summer holiday and she was just telling me what it was like."

"Oh. Well, that _is_ good news."

Lily nodded numbly. She hugged the owl tightly to her chest; he may be valuable later. "I'm going up to read," she told her parents, and hurriedly left the room, the contents of the message weighing heavily on her mind.

She quickly wrote to Alice, whose parents were both Aurors and might have a better idea of what the strange words meant, explaining what had happened downstairs and what the letter said. Lollipop could sense the urgency of the situation, because she didn't pause to protest when Lily all but threw her out the window.

"Hurry up," she whispered to herself, watching as Lollipop faded into a tiny black speck in the distance.

_Sorry about the slow update. Thanks for the reveiws._


	4. Chapter 4

A.N. – Hey! I'm really sorry about the slow update last time, but my computer decided to be stupid and wouldn't let me transfer the document, so I had to wait until I got a new printer hooked up to my other computer and retyped all the documents on this computer so I could get it to my cousin . . . My other computer wouldn't take floppy disks, CDs, or memory sticks. It's a pain in the butt. Anyway, hope you like this chapter! Read and Review!

**Chapter Four**

A day passed without word from Alice. Lily spent most of her time gazing hopefully out the window in search of an owl, but hadn't yet seen one.

Elbow propped up against the windowsill, Lily pressed her nose against the windowpane and dozed on. Then, with an unusually loud snore, her eyelids flew open and she gazed around her bedroom.

_Finally! _Her mind screamed when she spotted an owl sitting atop the mess of laundry that had accumulated in the corner during Petunia's absence. _But that isn't her owl!_

It was true. Lily had seen this owl before, but it wasn't her friend's. It was _his_.

James Potter. The name sent a fresh new wave of fury and disgust through Lily. How she despised him! Arrogant, cocky, and conceited, he had a certain charm that made every girl at Hogwarts (except Lily, of course) go weak in the knees. He spent most of his time at Hogwarts languishing in his own popularity, bullying unsuspecting students, snogging girls, and annoying Lily. He paid little attention in any of his classes, though his grades were among the best in the year. And Lily hated him for all of it.

Lily could vividly remember the day she really began to loathe him. Her first year had almost come to an end and, while Lily had been shy and avoided most unnecessary contact with anyone, she had finally befriended the girls who shared her dormitory: Emma Gregor, Alice Chambers, and Lina Richmond. Lily had been so elated at her new camaraderie that she felt only a small jolt of dread when in Transfiguration, Professor Whyte had partnered her with the most popular boy in first year.

Oh, he had been perfectly fine to start with. All charming and kind, he didn't seem the least bit affected when she dove out of sight to hide her blush. In fact, he apologized for her embarrassment and tried to act as thought nothing had happened — but even then, wonderful actor as he was, Lily didn't miss the smirk.

Looking back now, Lily didn't understand how she could have been so stupid.

James had always been one of the more advanced students in Transfiguration (better than Lily herself if she was forced to admit it), so he hadn't been terribly afraid when Whyte told them that they were to transfigure their guinea pigs into kerchiefs and back again. James did this all with an arrogant laziness. Lily could hardly help but be intimidated.

She managed to perform the trick, but while frightened, intimidated, and feeling sick as she found things way over her head, it was a bit shaky. She was so relieved at having done a fairly good job that she didn't notice when James pulled his wand.

And then it happened. Lily couldn't help but shudder in embarrassment at the memory.

Lily never did find out if James had transfigured the wings or if it was some charm, but he managed to enchant her guinea pig into growing wings. The poor creature, quite frightened and alarmed, soared once around the classroom before flying directly at a very unsuspecting Professor Whyte. While James had found this all very amusing, Lily had failed to find the humor in the situation when she was landed with her first-ever detention. This wouldn't have been a bit deal for James (detention was an almost daily occurrence with him), but it was an _extremely_ big deal for Lily.

Ever since then, Lily Evans hated James Potter and all his self-important arrogance.

Perhaps that was why, Lily thought with a grin, she had felt the need to answer his request for a date in third year as she had. It was a lovely memory. The most satisfying part, for Lily at least, was seeing James Potter, stunned beyond comprehension, being herded into the Hospital Wing with a black eye. Lily had thought after that particular incident, James would see she wasn't interested and leave her alone. Unfortunately for Lily, she was to receive no such luck. Instead of driving him away, the event seemed to have made the boy even more persistent for a date. That too had become an almost daily occurrence.

Her need for answers overpowered her hatred and she read his letter.

_Evans _

_If you haven't yet, don't tear this up. I don't plan on saying anything stupid, but I won't make any promises._

_My parents, like Alice's, are Aurors. When Alice got your message, she immediately transferred the information to her parents who then brought it to the attention of others. You've caused quite an uproar. My parents are requesting that you tell them everything you can about the owl itself; they say it's important._

_They request your presence at our home tomorrow. I'm afraid it's urgent and don't be fooled: I protested against it. Unfortunately, the letter you found could provide just the break we've all needed._

_I can't say much in a letter, just in case it's intercepted. Apparate to: POTTER MANSION._

_See you tomorrow, bring what information you can._

_Yours,_

_Potter_

Lily's breath caught in her throat. Attend a meeting, at POTTER'S house?

_I won't do it! I won't, I won't!_

Lily mentally kicked herself.

_How could you be so selfish? Potter said this could be just the break they've needed. It could be for the greater good of the Wizarding World, Lily Evans. Your home, your friends. You can definitely handle a few uncomfortable hours for that._

_But it's POTTER!_

Lily sighed. Frankly, she agreed with both halves of the argument, but she knew she had to listen to the side that made more sense. If it would help her friends and her home, she really had no choice.

--

"Mum, I'm going out. I don't know when I'll get back, but I should be home in time for dinner."

Mrs. Evans looked up from her tea, no doubt a bit surprised by Lily's brisk tone and the fact that her daughter wasn't wearing her pajamas at only seven o'clock in the morning. "Where are you going?"

Lily sighed. Why did her mother have to start acting like a mum just when Lily didn't want her to? "I'm meeting up with a few of my friends today and we're going shopping for a wedding present for Alice's older sister," Lily lied through her teeth, hoping her mother would buy it. Alice didn't have an older sibling. Lily seriously wished she hadn't mentioned that in conversation.

Mrs. Evans believed the excuse. "Tell Alice's sister I'm happy for her," said Mrs. Evans simply, returning to her tea. "Oh, but take a piece of toast!" Lily grabbed a piece off the plate.

Lily let out the breath she had been holding and raced upstairs, grabbed the cage that had become the strange owl's temporary home, and apparated to the destination Potter had designated. Once the swirl of color had died down she found herself standing in the center of an enormous room decorated with several paintings of medieval witches and wizards in ostentatious gowns. Many people were sitting on three couches that had been set in a circle around a table, and heads instantly started turning her way.

She realized she didn't recognize many of these people and bit down the panic that was rising quickly to the surface. _Maybe I missed Potter's home . . ._

No such luck.

"Hey, Evans," said an altogether too-familiar voice. "I was wondering when you were gonna show up."

"My mum wouldn't stop talking," said Lily, knowing she was being unfair to her mother. "I did get a piece of toast out of the whole deal though," she added as an afterthought.

James chuckled. "Is that the owl?" he asked. "I didn't know you'd kept it! You never answered my letter; I didn't know if you were coming or not."

"Lollipop was still with Alice. I never got her back after I sent Alice that letter."

"Speaking of that," said a gruff voice, "let's get down to business, shall we?"

Lily turned. James stood there, his black hair as tousled and windswept as ever, that silly grin plastered on his face. She noted with annoyance that he'd grown even taller over the summer holiday. She narrowed her eyes disgustedly at him before moving to observe the person beside him.

Beside him stood a very odd looking man, his scarred face and tortured eyes a testament to the many battles he had seen.

"Hello," Lily said to the man, holding out her hand. "I'm Lily."

"Moody," growled the man as he took her up on her offer. Lily did a double take. _Did he just insult me?_

She managed to say, "Excuse me, sir?"

"He's not insulting you, Evans," interjected James with a slight touch of amusement. "That's his name. Alastor Moody." She felt an odd sensation when James said this, but immediately dismissed the possibility of him being able to read her mind.

Lily felt the heat rush to her face. "I'm sorry, sir."

"It's fine. You're not the first to make that mistake, nor the last, I'll wager." Moody stepped closer to Lily, his eyes probing the furry creature in Lily's hands.

"You can hold him if you'd like," Lily proposed. "He hasn't made much of a fuss or tried to get away. Actually, he didn't even seem very keen to leave his cage this morning." Lily explained, "I've had him in my owl's cage, since mine's currently out delivering a letter. I've never seen an owl this comfortable around a stranger."

Moody looked at James with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah," said James, half sadly, half admiringly. "She does always talk that much."

"I'll thank you for that assessment, Potter," snapped Lily angrily. "It's an important bit of information. Honestly, it's like this owl was mine."

Moody grumbled, "And you're sure you've never seen him before?"

Lily nodded. "Very sure. I didn't recognize the handwriting on the note either. If you'd like to see that, I have that with me as well."

Moody took the letter from Lily's hand, studied it for a moment, and handed it to a dark skinned witch on the couch. "Look familiar?"

The witch looked up and shook her head. "I have to agree with the Evans girl," she said. Lily felt a bristle of indignation rise up within her at being referred to as "the Evans girl", but quickly squashed it. "I can't place it. I can check it with anything we have on file at the Ministry, but that could take a while."

"You've got a wand, Cecile," someone spoke up from the crowd on the couch. "Use it."

The witch glared but otherwise ignored the rather rude statement. "Meanwhile, there are some tests that we could perform on the owl to "

"Hang on," Lily interrupted quickly, holding her hands up as she attempted to ignore the stares that were being directed her way. "Tests? They won't _hurt_ the owl, will they?"

"Evans "

"I know it'd be for the best of the world and could help track down whoever it is you're looking for, but doesn't anyone else think that it'd be a bit wrong to hurt her just for that?"

"Evans," said James with an impatient wave of his hand. "The spells won't hurt it. Irritate it for a bit, maybe, but I'd say it's worth it. Besides," he lowered his voice and looked her in the eye, "you're in a room with a dozen witches and wizards who think this is the right way to go about things. Do you really want to test them?"

Lily sighed. The owl's huge yellow eyes followed her as she placed it carefully in James' arms. "Happy now?" she whispered, narrowing her eyes at him.

James shrugged. "Could be a lot happier, but yeah, for now I'm fine."

"Glad to hear it," hissed Lily.

"I'd like a chance to analyze this," said the witch who had been called Cecile as she held the letter in the air. "It could take a while, if you don't mind."

"Why would I mind?" Lily asked. "It's not as if it's mine anyway."

"Very well," said Cecile.

Lily looked around at the sea of unfamiliar faces. "Um, am I done here?"

"Suppose so," answered James as he heaved his shoulders. "See you 'round, Evans."

"Bye."

A.N. – Did you like? I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed, I really appreciated it. This story is a bit slow in the beginning but don't worry – the end makes up for it! Or, at least I hope it will. Bye now.


	5. Chapter 5

A.N. – Sorry it took so long to update! I didn't even realize so much time had gone by until I was _working _during my study hall on the computer in the library and glanced at the update date on my story. Anyway, MERRY CHRISTMAS! And guess what? It's my birthday, too – December 22! YAY! This chapter is dedicated to all my wonderful friends who gave me presents – and those who didn't, but brightened the day anyway just by being there. Also, I would like to thank AzNpRinCeSsWaRrioR - for so far reviewing every chapter! You don't know how awesome you are!

**Chapter Five**

Lily settled back into the seat of a compartment nearing the end of the Hogwarts Express, allowing a wave of relief to wash over her as she took a deep breath of the comfortingly familiar scent of leather and smoke.

"France was beautiful," said Emma Gregor with a far-off gleam in her eyes. "Mum was fascinated by the historical value, but the boys were pretty cute, too."

Lily threw up her hands in mock exasperation. "So that's what you've been doing your whole summer? You've spent the better part of two months in one of the most culturally rich and mysterious places in Europe, and all you can say is that the guys were hot. Why am I not surprised?"

"Hey, you would've done the same thing if you'd seen them," said Emma defensively, casually tucking a lock of thick brown hair behind her ear. "I'm sorry, but I can't just ignore something that gorgeous . . ."

"Speaking of gorgeous," Alice Chambers interrupted, "don't you already have a boyfriend?"

"Who d'you mean? _Dan?_ I broke it off with him right after we left for summer holiday; he was a sad loser."

"I doubt that'd keep you from checking the other guys out, though," said Lina Manchester with a dazzling smile. "Anyway, I'm sure none of you are interested in what _I_ did over the summer."

Lily hastened to explain, aware that she might come across as inconsiderate. "I did try to write you, but you never sent my letters back."

"I'm sorry," said Lina sincerely, "but my dad forbid me to use my owl while I was . . . well, I suppose if I told you I would ruin the surprise, wouldn't I?"

"Aw, come on," Alice pleaded, "we want to know."

Lina smiled. "Alright then, if you're so anxious. Anyhow, you know how my parents are originally from the States?" Lina had moved from the United States to Britain when she was only three years old, and could remember nothing of her country of birth. The other occupants of the compartment nodded. "Well, my mum's been harping my dad to take her back for a visit for years now. So he finally decided to act on it."

"You don't mean –" Alice gasped, clamping her hands to her mouth as her eyes widened simultaneously.

"Oh, but I do," Lina nodded. "My mum was so excited at the prospect of going back home that she almost forgot me. I was stranded at quite a long while at the library before mum remembered that she was supposed to pick me up."

Lina was immediately bombarded with questions.

"Was it fun?"

"What'd you see?"

"Hang on a sec and I'll tell you all about it," said Lina. "First off, the plane ride was interesting. My dad gets plane-sick, so he was half-dead before we got to the airport. Poor thing. Anyway, mum called my grandmum and we ran over to her house. All the relatives were there, like a surprise party or something. My mum was so thrilled, and dad looked elated too. I met a lot of very interesting cousins of mine that I didn't even know existed."

Lina continued, "The landscape was awesome, and the people were mostly friendly. There was this one guy who ended up being a real pain in the butt, but other than that . . . Oh, guess what?"

"What?" the other three demanded eagerly.

A rapturous smile danced its way onto Lina's lips. "One of my cousins was friends with this guy, and I really like him. He was nice to me and everything, and he seemed really interested about what my life had been like here in Britain as compared to over there. So anyway, he asked me out. We had a lot of fun. I've got a picture of him if you'd like to see it."

"How could we refuse that enthusiasm?" commented Lily, smiling. "C'mon, show us."

Lina dug feverishly through her bag for a few seconds, finally resurfacing with a triumphant, "Yes!" She handed the picture to Emma, who whistled and passed it to Lily.

It was a photograph of a rather handsome young man with blonde hair and sparkling, laughing blue eyes. His arm was thrown over Lina's shoulder, holding her close, and his contented smile seemed to say it all.

"I like," remarked Lily objectively, and she held the picture out to Alice. "What's his name?"

"Chris. Chris Matison."

_Long distance relationships. _Lily could hear the alarm bells sounding off, but she ignored them. Oh well, what if Lina did have a boyfriend in America? Only about an ocean away, right?

Lina sighed. Lily, Emma, and Alice exchanged looks; it wasn't like their friend to become sentimental over a relationship. Lina was among the prettiest girls in seventh year and had dated almost every boy (fifth-year and up, of course) that she had laid her eyes on.

"Well," Lily began, "you wouldn't believe what happened to me this summer. I've already told Alice, because her parents are Aurors and everything . . ."

Lily poured out the whole story of the unsigned note sent by a mysterious messenger – an owl that no one could identify. When she reached the part about visiting the Potters, she found three sets of wide eyes locked incredulously on her face.

"You're kidding!" Emma exclaimed. "I'd've never believed you had it in you."

Lina smirked. "Well, we all knew she'd fall for him someday."

"Sod off," mumbled Lily. "You know I don't like him. I don't even understand why everyone thinks they're so wonderful – Potter and Sirius, I mean. At least Sirius is remotely handsome, even I'll admit to that, but Potter . . ." She shuddered at the thought. _Yuck. _"That's just disgusting."

"Have you ever _seen_ that boy?"

Alice giggled. "I think they look fine," she said, "but I've got my eye on someone else."

Emma, Lina, and Lily shared glances. Lily knew all about the secret crush Alice harbored for a Gryffindor in their year by the name of Frank Longbottom.

"Did he say anything to you at all?"

"He said hello!" Alice's eyes lit up and she hugged herself. "I was walking by and he just said, out of the blue, to me," she shrieked happily, "_hello!_"

"Calm down, Alice," advised Lily laughingly. "I don't want to have to explain to Madame Louise why you had to be brought to the Hospital Wing on the first day of school." Madame Louise was the school nurse.

"So what happened during your holidays?" Emma questioned, looking between Lily and the elated Alice.

Lily shrugged nonchalantly. "Nothing much. Well, I suppose I shouldn't say that. Petunia's getting married, at least. She brought him –"

Alice exclaimed, "_Petuny's getting married!_ You never mentioned that in your letters!"

"Didn't think it was too important," said Lily, shrugging again. "Anyway, she announced it over dinner. Dad didn't take it too lightly; I only just got him to talk again a few days ago."

"What's he like?" inquired Lina eagerly.

"I don't really _know_ him," said Lily, "so I can't say whether I dislike him or I don't. But as far as first impressions go, I didn't really like him. He kind of . . . _looked_ at me funny."

"Looked at you funny?"

"Yeah." Lily blushed and changed the subject, feeling as though the conversation was swinging around to far too uncomfortable matters. "So anyway, guess what else happened?"

Lina sighed. "Something _else_ happened? Gosh, I'm beginning to think that you had a more exciting vacation than I did."

"This is really important though." Lily glowed. Suddenly excited, she squealed, "I made _head girl!_"

Alice smiled and offered her congratulations, while Emma patted Lily on the back and Lina remarked that Lily was the only student who had even the slightest chance of being awarded the position.

"Thanks," said Lily, beaming. She glanced down at her watch, feeling her stomach churn with nervousness as she realized the time. "I'd stay and chat more, but I've got a prefect meeting to prepare for right now."

--

Lily reached the compartment she knew from her years as a prefect to be the first of the prefect compartments. Though she had spent several sleepless nights preparing her lecture, she couldn't help but feel doubtful of her abilities as she stood faced with the reality of it all. She had never been much of a talker when it came to people she didn't know.

_You'll do fine,_ Lily thought, trying to reassure herself. _Don't be stupid, Lily, you're excellent at lecturing. Heavens knows you've had enough practice._ Lily smiled to herself.

"Hey, Evans," said a voice from behind her. "Funny meeting you here."

Lily squeezed her eyes shut and tried to keep her cool. "Yeah, hilarious."

"I've always _loved_ your witty sense of humor." James leaned languidly back against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest as he grinned at her. He, like Lily, had already changed into his Hogwarts robes, and clipped to the corner of his robe —

_NO! No, it can't be possible!_

"_Please_ tell me you borrowed that from the real head boy," groaned Lily.

James glanced down at the golden head boy badge. "Unfortunately for the both of us, no," said James, frowning. "I'm stuck with this and you, well, you're stuck with me."

_NOOOOOOO! Just my luck!_ "Do you think it would be too late to write Dumbledore and tell him I resign?"

"Don't bother, I've already tried to resign myself. He's not letting either of us."

Lily looked sideways at him through a curtain of her thick red hair. "_You_ tried to resign? Why? This is probably you're dreams come true or something, forcing me to spend time alone with you."

"It would be my dream come true," admitted James, "had I actually _wanted_ to be head boy, which I don't. It'll take all the fun out of life!"

"Why, because now you'll actually have to follow the rules you've dedicated your life to breaking?" Lily snapped.

"Pretty much," said James, shrugging. "But there'll be time to argue later when we've finished the prefect meeting. I'm just guessing here, but I have this bizarre feeling that we're late."

Sighing, Lily pushed open the door to the compartment and was immediately greeted by eight anxious faces. _These must be the younger prefects only,_ thought Lily. The older ones were probably in the other booth, as they would've already have heard this speech the year before.

"Hello, my name is Lily Evans," introduced Lily, smiling warmly. "I'm head girl this year."

"And I'm James Potter, doubtless you all know me anyway. I'm head boy."

Several eyes widened at this statement. "_What?_" a boy Lily recognized as a fifth-year Ravenclaw asked in amazement. Lily found she couldn't really blame them for their surprise.

"Yeah, well," said James, and Lily was stunned to see that he looked moderately uncomfortable. "On with the meeting, then, I suppose."

"You are all prefects," Lily announced quietly, resisting the urge to blush at her dramatics. "Being a prefect is not only an honor, but a privilege. A privilege that can be taken away if any of the professors, the headmaster, Potter, or myself come to the conclusion that you are in any way abusing your powers."

"Powers that include," continued James in a strangely business-like voice, "the ability to take away and add to house points and hand out detentions. It will also be your responsibility to lead the first years to their respective houses and to keep track of the passwords to the house common rooms and dormitories. Dumbledore should've given you a list of the current passwords."

"Also, as an added bonus for being made prefect, you each will be moved to separate dormitories that have been specially arranged for students of your – er, caliber."

"As Lily said," Lily felt an involuntary shudder run the length of her spine when she heard him say her name, "any power-tripping will not be tolerated. I would suggest you not risk it." He shot a warning glare around the room, which settled a bit longer than necessary on the two Slytherin prefects in the corner, as if to say that if anyone was abusing their rank, they knew who they would have to deal with.

Lily bit her lip and glanced at James. "I suppose that's it, then," she said. "Oh, and it's your job to patrol the corridors at eight o'clock. I'd recommend alternating the days between houses, so not every prefect is out patrolling after curfew. Lot less work that way, believe me."

Lily moved to the side slightly as the prefects began filing their way out of the compartment. Several stopped to congratulate Lily and James on being made head girl and boy.

Soon the room was empty except for Lily and James, and Lily soon began squirming in the tense silence.

She cleared her throat nervously and said, "Uh, I'm leaving now." James gave her a wink before he too slid out of the compartment and down the hallway.

--

Emma and Alice were deep in a heated conversation when Lily again joined them in her original compartment.

"—doesn't make sense!" Emma was saying loudly. "It's just not logical!"

"Who ever said I think logically?" Alice argued, her face gradually becoming redder.

"STOP IT!" Lily shouted as she held up her hands to silence the retort that Emma was preparing. Both debaters stopped instantly as though frozen and stared at Lily.

"You two are acting so childishly," admonished Lily. "You're both seventh years now, you'd better start acting like it."

Emma glanced quickly at Alice and said, "Lily, I realize the meeting was probably a disaster, but that's no reason to take it out on us! I mean, _honestly_ —"

Lily felt immediately regretful of her behavior. "Sorry, I didn't meant to yell at you," she said. "I'm just beginning to realize my hypocritical side, y'know. Where's Lina? And what makes you think the meeting was a disaster?"

"Lina went to find the trolley lady," said Emma. "She's got this wicked craving for chocolate – I can't say that I've never felt it before. Anyway, you just seemed upset, is you. It's not everyday you come marching in here with that look on your face and scream at _us_ for acting like children. Usually, it's Potter or Black you're yelling at." Alice nudged Emma in the ribs and smiled at Lily.

"Who's head boy?" she asked sweetly.

Lily groaned, hiding her face in her hands. "Potter."

Emma's face broke out in a reluctant smile and a moment later she was clutching the stitch in her chest and the compartment was ringing with the sound of her uncontrollable laughter. "Oh that was brilliant, Lily! Couldn't've picked a better one myself! Now c'mon, who _really_ got head boy?"

"I'm not lying! He showed up at the prefect meeting, head boy badge and all! UGH!"

"What was Dumbledore _thinking?_" Alice questioned wonderingly, while Emma instantaneously stopped laughing and was looking awed by the mere idea.

"That's what I was wondering," said Lily, "if Professor Dumbledore was thinking at all. But it wouldn't be fair to blame it all on him. According to my letter, the staff all votes for head boy and girl, so it would've had to take the majority of the votes in order to make Potter head boy."

"Do you think the staff have James confused for someone else? I mean, he's a _marauder!_ They make it their lives' purposes to break rules, not enforce them."

Emma clapped Lily heartily on the back, saying jovially, "Ah, well, buck up! I'm sure it won't be that bad! You'll only have to see him in meetings, after all."

_Yeah. Yeah, she's right!_ Lily dared to be hopeful.

Silence encompassed the compartment. It was broken when Emma sighed and said, "Look at us. We're such a bunch of _girls_."

"I don't see how that's a bad thing, but alright . . ."

"I don't mean it that way," said Emma. "I mean, You-Know-Who is growing ever stronger, and all we can talk about are French boys, Lily's secret love, and Americans."

Lily bristled. "He is _not_ my secret love!"

"You just keep telling yourself that, dear," said Alice wearily.

Lily scowled at the brunette, but after a moment her eyes drifted past the two figures against the window to the scenery outside. The English countryside was quite a sight to behold, even if it was passing by the train so quickly that she could barely take it all in.

It was then, with field of corn and unkempt meadows speeding past, that Lily realized how correct Emma was. It seemed so trivial to be worried about petty crushes and classmates while the rest of the Wizarding World was on high alert and families were in danger of being attacked and murdered for no apparent reason. The Ministry, she had heard, were certain of a link between the deaths but had yet to uncover one.

"Have you been reading the _Daily Prophet_?" Lily asked. "I had to cancel my subscription because Petunia didn't like the idea of owls flying in and out of our house once a day."

"I didn't keep up with it while I was in France," said Emma. "We were styaing at a muggle hotel; I thought it would attract too much attention."

Lily commented, "It probably would have. Can you imagine what Petuny would say if she had paid for a night at a 'supposedly normal' hotel, and saw an owl flying in through the upstairs window? She would've freaked. And just your luck, there were probably about a dozen Petunia clones staying there."

"I've been keeping up with the _Prophet_," said Alice quietly. "My parents, they have too, as they're in half the articles."

"You haven't recognized any of the names, have you?"

The tension in the compartment was almost too much to bear. Tears began to form in Alice's enormous brown eyes, which now looked like endless pools of regret and sadness. Lily felt her heart skip a beat.

"There was a – a Hufflepuff girl, Liza Tessier. According to Ministry officials, she went 'window shopping' and never came home." Alice sniffed, her fragile voice cracking. "Her mother called the crisis hotline — it was on that information packet the Ministry sent home — and Liza's – Liza was found, dead, down Knockturn Alley."

Lily gasped and Emma clapped a hand over her mouth. Lily had always gotten on well with Liza. They were in the same Potions class, and Liza had been as good as Lily herself, if not better.

"How? Who? _Why?_"

"They said it was due to rouge Death Eater activity," aid Alice, staring at her toes. "My dad says it was definitely due to Death Eater activity, but he thinks they were far from being rouge miscreants. He thinks they've got to have some form of organized leadership – these deaths are just too accurately planned."

"But why would anyone want to kill Liza?" said Lily desperately. "Surely they don't go around murdering everyone in sight just because they can?"

"Unfortunately, my parents say that's exactly how they operate." A new gleam shone in Alice's eyes, one Lily had never seen before, and it scared her. She wouldn't describe it as demonic, only slightly maniacal, mingled with anger and a hard determination. "They kill for sport. They think it's fun."

"But why? What reason could they possibly have for murdering innocent schoolgirls?"

"Not just schoolgirls, Lily. Liza wasn't the only one found dead this summer. Do you remember Douglas Donovan, the manager of Quality Quidditch Supplies in Diagon Alley?"

"They didn't kill him too!" exclaimed Emma. "They couldn't have! He was always really nice to me, and he really knew his Quidditch. Why would anyone have killed him?"

"Why. No one knows why. Haven't you got it yet?"

"They had to have had some purpose? What's their reasoning behind it?"

"They have none," said Alice. "That's the point. As I said, they think killing is fun. But for now," Alice's eyes met with Lily's for a split second, "the Ministry believes they might be targeting muggle-born witches and wizards."

Lily's eyes grew wide. "But that's – that's _me!_"

"Yeah, that's you. And your family as well, though I doubt they will target you specifically."

"My family? They're after my family?" Lily burned with hatred. "They can have me, I don't care bout me, just – why my family? What has my family ever done to them?"

"Nothing, Lily! That's exactly what I'm trying to explain to you!" Alice threw her hands in the air in frustration. "They're _evil_. Each and every one of them. Hopefully they'll decide you're not worth it and simply leave you alone but if they odn't, you need to take the necessary precautions!"

"Like what? Tell me what I can do to help my family!"

"I don't know any," said Alice bitterly. "My parents wouldn't tell me. They said I needn't worry about matters that don't concern me but they don't understand. This _does_ concern me. I don't want my best friend's family to wind up dead. Please, Lily, I'm only doing this to help warn you. If your parents were to die because I didn't say anything, I would never forgive myself!"

_I'll have to look some protection spells up in the library,_ thought Lily, searching her memory for any recollection of such jinxes.

"It's alright, guys," said Lily as she set her bag and notebooks down and took a seat. "I'll be fine."

"Lily," said Alice quietly, her pleading voice breaking. "Lily, I didn't mean to frighten you. Honest. It's just – I don't want to see you become an orphan, alright?"

"I don't blame you at all, Alice," said Lily, giving Alice the most reassuring smile she could muster. "I'm glad you told me."

Alice sighed, relieved.

All three friends jumped up, startled, as the compartment door slid noisily open. Lina entered with an armful of sweets, which she poured out on the seat beside Lily.

"I brought you some," said Lina breathlessly. "Sorry it took so long. The trolley lady got hung up by the marauder's compartment – apparently they nearly bought her out of all her merchandise and she needed to magic some more before she'd let me near them. I'm so hungry, I –" Lina paused, taking in the grim expressions on her friends' faces. "What's the matter, guys?"

Lily shook her head. "Nothing," she lied. "Can I have a chocolate frog?"

Lina nodded. "Take whatever you'd like; I bought it all for you three anyway."

With that, all discussion of the Death Eaters and their malignancy was shoved to the backs of their minds and the four teenage girls submerged themselves in chocolate and talk of the upcoming year at Hogwarts.

A.N. – Did you like it? Hope so! Please review, and I'll try to get the next chapters out sooner! Ideas and suggestions are more than welcome! 'Til next time – have a very merry Christmas or whatever it is you celebrate!


	6. Chapter 6

A.N. – I FINALLY GOT THE INTERNET BACK AT MY HOUSE! Guess what that means? WAY faster updates! I hope. Anyway, this is a slightly shorter chapter (but not that short) – but I kind of felt it was needed. Thanks to **AzNpRinCeSsWaRrioR** for the review, I'm glad you liked it! And yeah, you're right, the purpose of that chapter was to show that the girls were actually involved in the war. Merry Christmas!

**Chapter Six**

Lily entered the Great Hall with a contented smile. The ceiling, which was bewitched to mirror the sky outside, appeared to just open up to the heavens. Stars twinkled in the distance against the backdrop of midnight blue, and a pale moon hung suspended in the sky.

She squeezed in between Emma and Alice at the Gryffindor table and reached for a piece of toast, only to stop as a sound pierced her ears.

Lily heard a shout and looked up in time to see James, sopping wet, chasing a rather adorable boy – James's best friend Sirius Black – around the end of the table. The two were shouting and swearing at each other across the gap as James made an unsuccessful plunge for Sirius, who dodged out of his way just in time. Emma and Lina stood up to get a better view.

_He's so immature,_ Lily thought, watching James dive at Sirius once more and wrinkling her nose. _Just imagine the pure, innocent ears of the first years being corrupted so soon into their commencement by listening to such crude language._ Lily knew from experience that first years were more than familiar with "such crude language," but she sought any reason she could use to discredit that impossible Potter.

Professor Bud, the Herbology teacher, managed to pry the two apart (Sirius had been unable to dodge James's last attempt quickly enough) and Professor McGonagall gave them both a stern – if slightly animated – lecture about acting their ages before leaving, presumably to fetch the first years.

_I can't agree more, ma'am._ Lily did her best to repress the look of smug satisfaction that was fighting its way to the surface.

"Who's that?" Alice asked, pointing to the end of the table. The Potion Master's seat, which was usually occupied by Professor Ynai, was instead being employed by a fat, walrus-like man whose hand kept darting feverishly in and out of a box of crystallized pineapple.

"Oh," said Emma. "That one's new too."

Care of Magic Creatures had always been a subject of great interest to Lily, and she was sure this new teacher would make it even more interesting. A young witch sat where the previous professor, Whizby, would have normally. She looked pleasurable, with long blonde hair pulled back into a neat ponytail and a face that could have been etched from porcelain. Well, at least the seventh year boys would have a new favorite subject this year.

Professor McGonagall made her way up the aisle between tables with a stool in one hand and a ragged, dirty, patched hat in the other. She paused before the High Table and set the stool down with a loud "thud!" that caught everyone's attention. She placed the hat on the seat.

Suddenly, the seam opened up as though the hat had a mouth and a song erupted from somewhere inside it.

_In times of old when I was new_

_And Hogwarts barely started_

_The founders of our noble school_

_Thought never to be parted:_

_United by a common goal, _

_They had the selfsame yearning,_

_To make the world's best magic school_

_And pass along their learning._

"_Together we will build and teach!"_

_The four friends decided _

_And never did they dream that they_

_Might someday be divided,_

_For were there such friends anywhere_

_As Slytherin and Gryffindor?_

_Unless it was the second pair_

_Of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw?_

_So how could it have gone so wrong?_

_How could such friendships fail?_

_Why, I was there and so can tell_

_The whole sad, sorry tale._

_Said Slytherin, "We'll teach just those_

_Whose ancestry is purest."_

_Said Ravenclaw, "We'll teach those whose_

_Intelligence is surest."_

_Said Gryffindor, "We'll teach all those_

_With brave deeds to their name,"_

_Said Hufflepuff, "I'll teach the lot, _

_And treat them just the same."_

_These differences caused little strife_

_When they first came to light,_

_Each of the four founders had_

_A House in which they might_

_Take only those they wanted, so,_

_For instance, Slytherin_

_Took only pure-blood wizards _

_Of great cunning, just like him,_

_And only those of sharpest mind_

_Were taught by Ravenclaw_

_While the bravest and the boldest_

_Went to daring Gryffindor._

_Good Hufflepuff, she took the rest,_

_And taught them all she knew, _

_Thus the Houses and their founders _

_Retained friendships firm and true. _

_So Hogwarts worked in harmony_

_For several happy years, _

_But then discord crept among us_

_Feeding on our faults and fears. _

_The Houses that, like pillars four,_

_Had once help up our school,_

_Now turned upon each other and,_

_Divided, sought to rule._

_And for a while it seemed the school_

_Must meet an early end,_

_What with dueling and fighting _

_And the clash of friend on friend_

_And at last there came a morning_

_When old Slytherin departed_

_And though the fighting then died out_

_He left us quite downhearted._

_And never since the founders four _

_Were whittled down to three_

_Have the Houses been united _

_As they once were meant to be._

_And now the Sorting Hat is here_

_And you all know the score:_

_I sort you into Houses_

_Because that is what I'm for,_

_But this year I'll go further,_

_Listen closely to my song:_

_Though condemned I am to split you_

_Still I worry that it's wrong,_

_Though I must fulfill my duty_

_And must quarter every year _

_Still I wonder whether sorting _

_May not bring the end I fear._

_Oh, know the perils, read the signs,_

_The warning history shows,_

_For Hogwarts is in danger, _

_Form external, deadly foes, _

_And we must unite inside her_

_Or we'll crumble from within._

_I have told you, I have warned you . . . _

_Let the Sorting now begin._

The hat fell motionless and the normal applause broke out, mingled with a fresh wave of mumbling and chatter. Lily didn't know what to make of the Sorting Hat's new song. It was obvious the hat wanted them to unite as a whole, but if that meant befriending a Slytherin . . .

"First years, come in," Professor McGonagall called. The doors of the Great Hall swung open and a hoard of nervous, apprehensive students were herded to the front of the room where the professor presided. Lily observed with wonder how short they all seemed now, remembering well her interview with the Sorting Hat. She had been so nervous – Emma's older brother had insisted that she would have had to undergo some sort of testing. Lily had never had a problem with tests before that moment, but those were tests she'd had time to study and prepare for. It was a pleasant enough surprise when the Sorting Hat had been all she'd needed to endure.

McGonagall picked up a paper and adjusted her glasses so she could see over the top as they sat on the end of her nose. "WAVERLY, CHRISTOPHER!" she announced.

A single boy stumbled forward, face slightly green and twisted as though he were trying hard to keep from being sick in front of everyone. He sat awkwardly on the stool and waited for McGonagall to place the Hat on his head. There was a moments' pause and then, "GRYFFINDOR!"

There was a tumultuous round of applause and cheering from her table, and she joined in, clapping enthusiastically.

"PATRICKS, JOAN!" was sorted into "RAVENCLAW!" and "KENLEY, LAURA!" was made a Gryffindor. The list drug on and on, until the final name was reached ("MITCHEL, DONNA!" "HUFFLEPUFF!"). A man with silvery hair and a beard both long enough almost to reach his knees stood up and raised his hands for silence. Silence fell.

The man smiled benignly. "Welcome back, to all our more familiar faces and welcome, to all our new friends. We do hope Hogwarts will be to your liking."

"Now," he continued, "I would hate to keep you all from the delicious feast the kitchen staff cooked up for us, so I just have three words for you: Nitwit, Blubber, Oddment, Tweak! Dig in!"

Lily laughed at the shocked expressions on the faces of the first years as a feast suddenly appeared before their eyes. Her stomach purred in pleasure as her eyes took in the mound of succulent rice pudding and juicy turkey.

"_How did he do that?_" one of the first years, a girl named Kay Richards, asked to no one in particular.

"Magic," James Potter answered ,smiling.

"Dig in," said Lily, her lips also graced with a warm smile. "It's excellent."

With a wary glance at the food Kay Richards picked up her fork and stuck it into the turkey, pulling off a piece of meat. She tasted it. "It _is_ excellent." Beaming up at the both of them with wide eyes, she introduced herself. "I'm Kay. Kay Richards. Who're you?"

"Lily," said Lily.

"James," said James.

"Well," a boy with short brown hair said, "my name's Ben Williams. I guess this was the best house to be chosen for, huh? Anyway, that's what _that_ boy said." Ben pointed at Remus Lupin, who smiled genially back at the boy. "He didn't say it to me, of course, he doesn't _know_ me, but I heard him telling someone else."

"He was certainly right," said James proudly. "It's an honor to be sorted into Gryffindor."

"I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be that horrible," said Kay. "I mean, they're supposed to be really smart, aren't they? I wouldn't have wanted to be sorted into Hufflepuff, but at least it'd be better than Slytherin. Don't you think, Gretta?"

The ginger-haired first year girl had been sitting beside Kay, neglected by the conversation and appearing mildly happy about being invisible. At the mention of her name, she looked up, averting her gaze as her soft green eyes met Lily's. Gretta mumbled something that sounded like "Don't know."

"Well now," said James. "I do agree that Hufflepuff is a far stretch better than Slytherin. See, Slytherins are so —"

"So misunderstood," Lily interrupted before James could finish his sentence, shooting him a warning glare. "There have to be some nice Slytherins somewhere. Didn't you listen to the song? Slytherin and Gryffindor used to be the very best of friends. I think Godric Gryffindor would certainly be able to distinguish for himself whether Slytherin was worthy of his friendship or not, and he clearly found Slytherin compatible."

"Yeah," said James. "They were friends until Slytherin got all pure-blooded on us and fighting broke out."

_Fighting that will continue to separate us until we try to stop it. _But Lily said nothing.

--

Professor Dumbledore rose and once again held his hands in the air for quiet.

"I do hope you've all enjoyed your feast," said Dumbledore, earning a loud round of applause and cheering. "Very good. Well, first thing's first. We have some new faces among us, as many of you have noticed. I am speaking, of course, of our new professors. Professor Johnson," the woman Emma had pointed out stood and dropped back down into her seat, flushed and blushing to the roots of her hair, "has kindly consented to fill the position of our beloved Care of Magical Creatures teacher, Professor Whizby. And Professor Slughorn," the walrus-like man rose to his feet, acknowledging the applause with a smile, "who'll be taking the place of Professor Ynai in Potions. Professor Slughorn will also be taking his place as Head of Slytherin House."

There was scattered applause. The Slytherins turned to each other in disgust and grimaced.

"Yes, yes, let us hope that with each new flame yet another new candle will begin to glow. However, I must impress upon you all the seriousness of the difficult times we are now facing." As Dumbledore's smile faded into a grim expression, along with it went the frivolous chatter of the students. Each face stared avidly at Dumbledore now, some apprehensive, some excited, some downright fearful. Alice was trembling and biting her lip, her countenance set in determination.

"There will be many challenges ahead for us all, of that we can be certain. You have heard rumors, perhaps, of an illegitimate group of pureblood supremacists who refer to themselves regularly as Death Eaters. The Ministry of Magic does not wish me to disclose this information to you – possibly mistakenly thinking that you are too young to have to worry much about something as dark as this. I disagree. The purpose of Hogwarts is to teach young adults the skills and basic knowledge that they will need for future pursuits. The recent flare in activity among these 'Death Eaters' is indeed alarming, and is indeed something that you all must consider when looking at your lives"

Dumbledore waved his hand at the Great Hall in general. "I am already aware that a fair few of our older students especially have begun to really commit themselves to one career. Many of them have chosen to follow the path of the Auror. Others wish to become Healers, journalists, and professors like the ones beside me today. Some wish to do nothing with their lives. Though I will respect each ad every one of your decisions, I must admit that wasting a lifetime like that is not looked upon very highly in the magical community. We all have the power to make a difference, from the first-years who were just admitted to this mysterious new school called Hogwarts to the seventh-years who will be graduating at the end of this year. There is something you must understand: Along with the power to make a difference comes the obligation. The world needs you now, each and every one of you."

Lily repressed a chill. Why did Dumbledore's eyes seem to focus in on her when he spoke? And why did he broach the topic at all?

"Now, onto a more familiar note, Mr. Filch has expressed his wishes that I read through his list of forbidden places and things for our first years and some of our older students who have yet to learn." Dumbledore's twinkling eyes rested for a moment longer than necessary on James and Sirius.

"No magic in the corridors between classes. Zonko's Joke Shop products are, as always, forbidden. No students are allowed out of bed after nine o'clock —"

Lily rested her head on her hand and let her mind wander away. This was going to be a long night.

A.N. – Thanks again for reviewing! If there is anyone out there reading this story but not reviewing — _please_ try to! I promise you it's not that hard. But anyway – I really hope you liked this chapter – and the ultra-fast update! Yay! There'll be more of those, I promise.


	7. Chapter 7

A.N. – I'm out of school for Christmas, and have been for two days now, so hopefully I'll be able to get more chapters out sooner. Anyway, I figured I would put this chapter up because I won't be putting one up tomorrow – CHRISTMAS! Yeah, I'm excited about it, if you haven't noticed yet. Yeah. Hope you all get tons of excellent presents!

**Chapter Seven**

Lily glanced at the gargoyles and back down at the note in her hand. Someone with extremely loopy handwriting had written, _I request your presence in my office as quickly as possible so we may discuss your responsibilities as head girl in more detail. I really do love candy canes, Albus Dumbledore. _Lily shook her head at the random comment at the end, not realizing its significance.

She stepped closer to the gargoyle and knocked on it, feeling extremely foolish. The statues remained as stony and inanimate as ever. _If he was expecting me,_ thought Lily with a stir of annoyance,_ why didn't he leave his door open or something?_

The more logical part of her brain answered sarcastically, _You can't really expect the headmaster of the school to leave the door to his office wide open because he was expecting company, do you?_

"Well he has to have some kind of password or some way to get in, then," Lily mused out loud, stealing another glance at enigmatic missive. "Um, let's try —" she cleared her throat and shot her eyes down the deserted corridor with a growing feeling of paranoia, "'I request your presence at my office as quickly as possible'" – she glanced up at the gargoyles with raised eyebrows; they hadn't moved – "'so that we may discuss your responsibilities as head girl in more detail.'" Still, the statues had not moved. Lily was beginning to feel really asinine. "'I really love candy canes' – _whoa!_"

As soon as the words "candy cane" had left her lips, the sculptures jumped to life and moved out of her way to reveal a dark, narrow staircase they had been guarding. She leapt backwards in surprise and shrunk, terrified, against the wall.

James Potter stepped out of the shadows, chortling. "That was bloody hilarious," he managed to tell her through his laughter. Lily assumed he had just been out on his broomstick, as his hair (if it were possible) looked even more windswept than ever. She rolled her eyes.

"Like you could've done better," she retorted.

"Actually, I could have," he said, sidestepping her and onto the first stair. She followed him. The gargoyles shut behind her, dousing the winding stairway in darkness. She squashed her nervousness. Lily hated the dark, ever since that stupid muggle moving . . . She shuddered.

"You alright, Evans?"

"I'm fine," Lily snapped. He was so annoying, acting like he was even the least bit concerned when all he ever did was make her so angry and frustrated that she had to fight the instinctual reaction of ripping him limb from arrogant limb. And then he pretended to care? _UGH!_

Lily traversed the dark stairs silently, arranging her features into an unreadable mask that properly concealed her resentment and fear. She could hear James behind her, and once again puzzled over Professor Dumbledore's decision to appoint James head boy. Even as she mulled it over in her mind, it sounded absurd. James and his friends, excluding Remus Lupin for the most part, had made themselves known for wreaking havoc on the school, causing extra work for the prefects and professors whose jobs it was to keep order. So why was it, then, that James Potter had been made one of those authority figures that he and his gang constantly tried to pester?

Lily came to a halt before a door at the landing.

"Would you like to do the honors?" she asked James, the edge in her voice one of cold courtesy.

He moved forward, and instead of gripping the big brass knocker he rapped his knuckles smartly on the wood in a little melody.

Knock-knock-kknnnoooocccckkkk-knock, knock-knock-knock-knock-knock,knock, knock 

"Potter!" Lily hissed, grabbing his arm and wrenching it away from the door. "_What do you think you're doing? _This is the HEADMASTER OF THE SCHOOL we're talking about now! You can't go around doing this to the headmaster! I realize you're used to having your own way and being completely irresponsible and disrespectful, but this is an all-time low —"

"Come in," said Dumbledore's voice from within the office, cutting off Lily's tirade. When Lily made no move to comply other than to glare angrily, James pushed the door open.

"Ah, I'm delighted you responded to my messages as quickly as you did," said Dumbledore congenially. "I was a bit worried that my messengers might have dawdled a bit, but I see my concerns were groundless. I expect you are both wondering why I have asked you here?"

"Didn't we come up here to go further into detail about all this head boy, head girl stuff?"

"Yes," said Dumbledore. "But I also have a bit of news that I have been thus far reluctant to disclose to you two, after viewing your relationship from a distant standpoint, but I believe you will be able to handle it."

_Oh no,_ Lily thought miserably. _What's he going to make me do now?_

"Actually, I am under the impression that this will do you both a bit of good."

_Please, just tell me before I go insane!  
_

Dumbledore sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Would you like a lemon drop?" he asked, holding a bowl of sweets out for Lily and James to take.

"What are they?" James inquired, gazing curiously at the candy in the dish.

"Oh, they're a type of muggle sweet that I've grown rather fond of," explained Dumbledore. "My cousin introduced me to them a few days ago, and I haven't been able to resist them since."

James shrugged and took one, popping it in his mouth. Lily tentatively reached her hand into the bowl, half expecting it to come alive. _He's stalling. I only wonder why?_ She began sucking on the sweet, sighing as it melted in her mouth. _I love candy._

After a silent moment, Dumbledore spoke again.

"I am sure that you are both aware of the fact that you will now have to leave your old dormitories behind for newer ones?"

Lily stared at him. Was that his bad news?

"Yes," said Lily and James, exchanging puzzled glances.

"And are you both aware that you will also switch common rooms? That you will now share a separate tower, common room, and dormitories?"

_Hold up! Alright, rewind. Keep going, wait for it . . .There! Stop! WHAT? SHARE A COMMON ROOM **AND** A SEPARATE TOWER WITH **POTTER**? I DON'T THINK SO!_

Dumbledore was watching their reactions with an expression of mingled sadness and regret, though his eyes were twinkling as though he knew a secret and wanted them to guess it.

It was James who regained the use of his voice first. "S-share a room, with E-Evans?" he stuttered, looking pleadingly at Dumbledore. "Y-you have to be kidding, professor!"

"The only room you and Miss Evans will have to share will be the common room of the heads' tower," said Dumbledore with a small, knowing smile. "You will have separate dormitories."

"That's a relief," Lily mumbled under her breath. She was fairly sure she would die of a heart attack, or any other stress-related injury, if she had to share a bedroom with James.

"If you two would be kind enough to follow me," said Dumbledore as he rose from his seat, "I will show you your new living area."

Lily said nothing as she descended the stairs, following Dumbledore's lead. They traveled down the corridor and made a left turn, arriving at a set of stairs that Lily did not remember ever having seen before.

"Professor, where —"

Dumbledore began to explain even before she had finished her sentence.

"This staircase," he said, "is bewitched to ensure that it can only be found by those who need to find it. Also, it has come to the attention of the staff that the head students are constantly forced to undergo a barrage of pranks that, though harmless, can become quite annoying. By making the entrance to your tower generally invisible to the regular pupil, we eliminate the risk of pranks – at least those that occur during time spent in your tower."

"What do you mean by 'those who need to find it'?" asked James.

Dumbledore smiled, as though pleased Lily and James were so inquisitive. "It can be found by anyone that you trust enough to reveal its location to. If your trust in that person ever fades, even slightly, their memory of its whereabouts is erased. They won't be able to find it."

Lily spoke up, "So if we show someone where it is, they'll be able to find it until we would rather they don't?"

"Precisely," said Dumbledore. "In addition, the professors of this school – including myself – will forever know where to find you in case of emergency. Now that we have gotten that all settled, I have a growing suspicion that you are eager to see your new living areas."

He began to climb the stairs, his lively, energetic step belying his old age. Lily, sighing, fell into step behind him. At the top the trio reached a small, enclosed area. It reminded Lily faintly of a closet, except that there was a door branching off to her left and the walls, wallpapered with a shimmering gold paper, were covered with hung portraits in gaudy frames of golden plaster.

They were standing before the portrait of a medieval wizard in a flowing blue cloak imprinted with moons and stars, his greasy gray hair in disarray as he fruther buried it in his arms. He was asleep.

"Chauncey," Dumbledore addressed the painting. "Chauncey, we have visitors that need access to this apartment."

"'E ain't asleep," said a disapproving witch from neighboring portrait. "Lazy, that's all 'e is."

"I ain't lazy!" Chauncey shouted, still pretending to sleep.

Lily made an offended noise in the back of her throat; if there was anything she hated more than Potter, it was direct disobedience of the authorities in charge.

James grunted and took a step toward the man in the painting, wand drawn.

"If you don't let us in the by the count of three," warned James in a threatening tone, "you're going to find yourself on the wrong end of this wand. Got it?"

Chauncey peeked one cautious eye open, probably to prove that James actually did have a wand. When he received his confirmation, he lifted his head and waved them through with a highly disgruntled flourish, all the while gazing apprehensively at the potentially dangerous object in James's grip.

Lily stepped through the portrait hole, acutely aware that James's eyes were roaming some places that they shouldn't have been as he stepped through after her. She had half a mind to turn around and remind him that certain areas were off-limits – especially to him – but all thoughts of berating James disappeared as she took in her magnificent surroundings.

A strangely detached part of Lily heard Dumbledore tell her this was the common room she would be sharing with James, and her heart leapt. It was a beautiful room and had a cozy, homey feel. An ornately carved fireplace was settled into the wall and the friendly flickering flame doused the room in a golden glow. Two squashy armchairs had been set at fireside, and in between them was a table where Lily assumed she would be doing some of her work during the year.

"I suppose I should take your silence as a positive answer," said Dumbledore, "but I have to ask. Do you like it?"

"I love it!" Lily burst out, smiling. "It's gorgeous!"

James appeared to be contemplating his answer, but Lily knew from the way his eyes were twinkling with mischief and excitement that he loved it too. "I agree with Evans," he said finally. _Wow,_ thought Lily dryly, _that's a first._

Dumbledore smiled. "I'm sure you will find that to be the case, yes," he said. "I'll leave you two alone to explore." And he left.

--

Lily glanced uneasily at James, not entirely sure what to do or what he expected her to do. She was not keen to stay within a five-mile radius of him any longer than necessary, and usually managed to avoid situations where the two of them were in the same room alone. Unfortunately, fate seemed to be working against her. She had to live with him now.

"I suppose we should go look at the dormitories," said James at last, gesturing at the two doors leading off from the common room. Lily nodded in agreement and bolted up the stairs, eager to leave behind the growing tension.

Her dormitory looked a lot like the common room with its golden and red wallpaper, except that in this room a huge canopied mattress had replaced the armchairs and table. It even had a hearth of its own, only slightly smaller than the one in the main room.

Another door branched off of Lily's room, and she wondered for a panicky moment whether it led to the head boy's room. She doubted she had ever been more relieved than when she opened it to reveal a bathroom.

Excluding the fact that she was sharing an entire tower with James and James alone, Lily felt that this had been a moderately good start to the rest of what already promised to be an overwhelming year.

A.N. – Well, did you like it? Please review!

**AzNpRinCeSsWaRrioR –**I made Slughorn a professor because in the sixth book he mentions having taught Lily and James, and Snape. Yeah, you're right that he taught Riddle too – I guess he was just either really young when he started teaching or was REALLY old by the time he got to Harry. Hmmm, perhaps there's an anti-aging potion involved? Lol. Thanks for reviewing!


	8. Chapter 8

A.N. -- Hi! I've had a really bad case of writer's block, but I'm slowly getting over it . . . Anyway, sorry if this chapter seems a little boring. Thanks to AzNpRinCeSsWaRrioR and hermione-G-wanna-be for reviewing!

**Chapter Eight**

Lily found it incredibly hard to fall asleep that night. Dreams eluded her, while the nightmares seemed ready as a predator to pounce on its prey. It was the strangest thing, but every time she closed her eyes the terrifying image of a man in a black hood began haunting the darkness. She reasoned that her discussion with Alice about recent Death Eater activity was at fault for this bout of paranoia.

Unable to experience a peaceful nap, Lily snuck out of her dormitory and into the common room. The flames still burning in the hearth were the only source of light, flickering off the papered walls in a soft sort of way. Just watching the rhythm of the flames as they danced in perfect timing with one another made her feel fatigued, but she feared attempting to return to a subconscious state.

Lily conjured up a steaming mug of hot chocolate with a wave of her hand, smiling despite herself at her ability to use wandless magic at an increasingly rapid rate. Professor McGonagall had been most impressed at the end of Lily's fifth year, when she first decided to try it out and had managed to levitate a pen. The intensity of her growing powers was frightening, especially to Lily – not many seventh years could perform wandless magic, and she had managed it in her fifth year.

She took a sip of the liquid, grateful for the way it seemed to spread through her body like poison, taking its warmth from her toes to her fingertips. The familiar taste was comforting, as well as a sad reminder of the family she had left behind. Hot cocoa was one of Mrs. Evans' favorite cheering solutions, and she always offered it to her daughters if either was feeling a bit down.

A floorboard creaked behind her, followed by a click. Lily turned, only to roll her eyes as she saw James Potter's sleepy figure stumble quietly from his dormitory. His raven-black hair was tousled more than usual, sticking up in every odd angle, and there were bags beneath his eyes as though he too was having difficulty sleeping. James stopped dead when he saw Lily.

_Great,_ she though morosely, feeling slightly fed-up. _First I can't get to sleep, and then I have to face Potter? Why? What horrible act have I committed against fate that it needs me to do this?_

"I'm sorry," said James, his voice harsh and rough. "I didn't know you were awake, but I couldn't get any sleep myself. Too busy thinking, I guess."

Lily nodded as her eyes drifted close for a moment. "Same here. I guess I'm just anticipating what the year has to offer, and I'm a little excited." She knew it was a lie. She hadn't felt less excited in her life since earlier that summer at dinner with Petunia and Vernon.

There was a pause. James took the vacant armchair and leaned back against it for a moment with his eyes shut, before he jerked awake again. Lily watched as he too conjured a mug of what looked to her to be butterbeer with a lazy wave of his hand.

_He can do wandless magic too. Wonderful. Now I don't even feel unique anymore._

James lifted the cup to his lips and took a sip. His eyelids shot open immediately and he straightened in his chair. Lily looked on, confused. She knew butterbeer didn't cause that kind of a reaction, but for once, she wasn't in the mood for an argument. She was too tired.

_Why can't I just go to sleep?_ Lily felt like crying. _Just an hour of sleep and I promise: I'll never sin again . . ._

"How d'you like your room?" James asked suddenly.

Lily shrugged, not really into the conversation. "I think it's fine," she said vaguely. "And the bed is sooo comfortable."

James sighed happily. "Mine, too." The two dissolved into an awkward silence.

"Umm . . ." Lily trailed off lamely. "Well, I suppose we should try to get some sleep now, then."

James nodded sleepily, looking so worn that Lily wondered whether he would actually fall asleep where he was sitting. With another wave, James's mug disappeared. Then he rose and fumbled toward the door to his dormitory, and had disappeared behind a closed door the next second. Lily sighed and did the same.

--

Lily strode with a petulant gait into the Great Hall for breakfast the next morning. Her situation had not improved in the slightest and she had only been allowed to enjoy a ten-minute nap before the images popped up again to incite their terror.

_Life is not fair,_ she thought grumpily.

Her excitement for the first day of classes was drowned out and watered down by her weariness. Any anticipation she might have felt had disappeared along with any hope she harbored of catching some sleep.

Emma and Alice were already there, and they nearly pounced on Lily as she slid in between them.

"Where's Lina?" Lily asked, her eyes sweeping the length of the Gryffindor table.

"She had a question about Quidditch tryouts," explained Alice, "so she went to find James and Sirius."

Lily nodded in mild interest. "So she's trying for Chaser again?"

"She's gonna try for Chaser _and_ Keeper," said Emma," said Emma, "if James will let her. Says she wants to experience a broader range of playing positions. So, Lils, where were you last night? We waited up for you for as long as we could, but Alice and I both fell asleep in the common room and Lina had to levitate us into our dormitory. I thought you said Dumbledore only wanted to talk?"

"He did," said Lily, and she told them of the events that had unfolded the night before. When she finished, her friends looked caught between laughter and anger that she would no longer be sharing a dormitory with them.

"It won't be the same without you, Lily," said Alice, and Lily smiled her gratitude. "Oh! I almost forgot. You have a letter." Alice reached into the pocket of her robes and extracted a slightly crinkled piece of parchment.

Emma said, "It was delivered just a moment before you walked in the door."

Lily, wondering what it could say and who might have sent it, carefully opened the envelope and extracted the letter.

_Lily,_

_How are you, honey? Your father, sister, and I have some spectacular news that we thought you might like to know. First of all, your sister came home last night, right after you left. She's been staying at her friend's house – I believe the girl's name is Yvonne. Anyway, she apologized for behaving as she had._

_Second, she told us the date of her wedding. Vernon's parents will only be in town for a limited amount of time this year – Petunia says it's due to a business trip. So they are having the wedding while his parents are here, which will be the week of Christmas. The date has been set: December 24th. Isn't that great? That way, you won't be in school. You'll be able to come to your sister's wedding!_

_You can bring whoever you like, though your sister has expressed her preference that you only bring one friend (there are already too many guests as it is). You know whom I would rather that be (think back to our discussion earlier this summer) . . ._

_How has your first day been? And the classes any fun or different?_

_Write back!_

_Love,_

_Mum_

"It's from my mum," Lily elucidated casually to her friends, though inside she was suppressing screams of terror and disgust. She didn't really want to attend Petunia's wedding, but then, what kind of sister would she be if she was not there? And who on earth would join her? Mrs. Evans had made it quite clear that Lily was expected to bring home a boyfriend, but Lily – at least, at the moment – didn't have one. What was she supposed to do, materialize one from thin air for the sole purpose of accompanying her?

_Hmmm, I wonder if that would work . . ._

She read the letter once more aloud to Alice and Emma, who were both looking sympathetic but sheepish when Lily glanced up.

"What?" Lily asked, bemused.

"Oh," said Alice despairingly. "Lily, I would go with you, but my parents are a little bit reluctant to let me out of the house and we're going to visit my Auntie Marian during the holiday break."

Emma flushed. "I – Lily, you know I hate to leave you hanging like this but I've got plans for Christmas too that I really can't break. My mum would kill me if I even suggested it. Family traditions."

Lily nodded. "I understand, guys, don't worry." Hopefully, Lina would be free. _Hopefully._

"Congratulations, Miss Evans, on making head girl."

Lily looked up, startled, into the kind face of Professor McGonagall. Lily did a double take upon first glance; she had become so accustomed to the stern, professorial expression that often graced McGonagall's face that this new smile seemed like a frightening new development indeed.

"Thanks," returned Lily, reddening and hoping she didn't look as horrible as she felt. McGonagall gave her a look of approval, handed Lily her class schedule, and moved on to the next group of students.

Lily skimmed the paper and felt her heart lifting ever so slightly for the first time since joining Dumbledore in his office. She had Care of Magical Creatures first thing in the morning, which would give her the opportunity to observe the new professor. After that – Lily brimmed with happiness – she had her favorite subject, Charms.

_Not bad for the first day back,_ she thought.

"What do you have?" she asked Alice, who was studying her own schedule with intense concentration.

"Um . . . Care of Magical Creatures and Divination," answered Alice after a moment.

Lily had been forced to quit Divination in her fifth year after the stress of the O.W.L.S. had begun to get to her. In turn, following McGonagall's advice, Lily had dropped Arthimancy as well.

"I've got Arthimancy and Diviniation," said Emma in a disappointed tone; she had dropped Care of Magical Creatures and would not, therefore, be spending any time with all her friends together.

Alice patted Emma on the back sympathetically, though she winked at Lily while Emma wasn't looking.

"Come on, you lot," said Emma, knocking away Alice's hand, "or we'll be late for class."

--

"What do you think Professor Johnson will be like?" Alice mused as she and Lily headed toward the gamekeeper's cabin, where Care of Magical Creatures classes usually met. It was a beautiful day, the fluffy clouds in the soft azure sky reflecting the whirlpool of emotions – excitement, fatigue, apprehension, and anticipation – that were sweeping over Lily.

Lily shrugged. "I don't know. She can't be any worse than Professor Whizby, though, can she?"

Alice giggled. Their previous Magical Creatures professor, a middle-aged woman with a long drawn face, knew her subject quite well, but she had spent much of the class drooling over the fat-head James Potter and Sirius Black. It had been disgusting.

"No," Alice agreed, "I suppose not. Though this time James and Sirius will probably react positively to any kind of affection, don't you think?"

Remembering Professor Johnson's face, Lily knew Alice was making a good point. Johnson looked extremely good, leaving superficial boys like James and Sirius who based relationships on looks alone with their jaws hanging open in blatant admiration. _Pathetic._

Hagrid, the groundskeeper at Hogwarts, was busy supervising the collection of the students that had accumulated around his door with an expression of mingled pride and sadness. Hagrid was a big, burly man, who stood about five feet taller than Lily. Much of his kind face was hidden beneath a tangled beard and hair. He was wearing a moleskin coat that Lily eyed with envy – it was a nice day, but the breeze was chilling.

Lily had known Hagrid since her first year, when Lollipop's broken wing forced her to seek his help. He had been ever so grateful to oblige, and from then on Lily dedicated certain blocks of her time to visiting him.

"Lily! Alice!" Hagrid called out when he saw them drawing nearer. "There yer are! I've bin waitin' ter see ya!"

"Hi Hagrid," Lily and Alice answered back.

"What's the matter?" Alice asked. "You don't look too happy."

Hagrid sighed, his broad shoulders heaving. "I just can'not believe this is yer last year at Hogwarts. It seems like just yesterday ya were comin' ter me with that lovely owl of yers, Lily."

Lily blushed. "Don't cry yet, Hagrid," she advised gently, for the giant had a reputation for getting very emotional. "We've got a whole year left for good times before you can start reminiscing. You're making me feel old."

Hagrid gave a watery laugh. "I'm makin' _you_ feel old? Lookin' back on all the classes like yers I've seen go through 'ere, I'm surprised I'm still old enough ta be standin' on my own two feet!"

"Hagrid, you're anything but old," Lily reassured, though she did not know if this was true or not, having no idea of how old Hagrid actually was.

Alice nodded her agreement. Hagrid looked overcome by tears.

"Oh, well, it's nice ter see ya anyway," said Hagrid. "Where're the other two?"

"Emma and Lina had to drop Magical Creatures," Alice explained. "It didn't fit their schedules."

"Too bad."

"Yeah. So – have you had any classes with the new Professor yet, Hagrid? Do you know if she's any good, as a teacher?" As the beautiful blonde's face once again surfaced in Lily's mind, the teenager bit back a stab of jealously and hopefulness that Hagrid would break off in a tirade and declare Johnson a horrible teacher. It was not to be so.

Hagrid nodded eagerly. "This'll be her first class o' the year, but she's nice an' all. And she knows 'er critters, that's fer sure." Something caught Hagrid's attention over their shoulders. Turning back, they saw James, Sirius, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew coming up over the knoll.

"See you later, Hagrid," said Lily quickly, anticipating Hagrid's next move. The four boys were even closer with Hagrid than Lily and her friends were, and she was not keen to have another confrontation with James; she saw too much of him already.

Lily led Alice through the crowd of students until they melted in quite inconspicuously, but when Lily looked over she noticed that James's eyes were still focused in her direction despite Hagrid being actively involved in a conversation with James's other three good friends.

"What do I have to do to convince that arrogant moron that I'm not interested in him?" Lily spat in irritation, feeling anger pumping through her system. "Potter and his inflated head have got to stay out of my business!"

"Lily," said Alice wearily. "You've been saying the same thing since the first time he asked you out in – what was it, fourth year? He's not going to back off just because you want him to, if you haven't figured that out yet."

Lily looked at her friend's honest though exasperated face. _Then I'll just have to think of something more . . . persuasive._

Professor Johnson was the last to arrive, her pretty countenance contorted with guilt. She blushed and looked sheepishly at her students before jogging to meet Hagrid.

"Sorry I'm late," said Johnson. Her voice had a soft, ringing sound. "There was an incident in the school that needed to be taken care of. Anyway, on to the lesson. Hagrid managed to catch us some creatures that I'm sure most of you will find quite interesting. He'll be assisting with the lesson, by the way, because he's as much of an expert as myself on this subject – probably even more of one, I daresay. Anyhow, if you'll just follow him . . ."

Hagrid leapt down from his pedestal, positively beaming, and began to walk very quickly in the direction of the Forbidden Forest. For one sickening moment Lily wondered whether he would lead them there, but then he veered off course and started to walk just along the tree line.

"I wonder what it could be," whispered Alice, her bright brown eyes eager.

Lily shrugged. "I dunno, use your imagination," she said, grinning. "Maybe . . . a phoenix? You know, I've always wanted one of those. Dumbledore has one in his office, actually."

"Or it could be a baby dragon," Alice suggested.

"Dragons are illegal," said Lily. Though uncertain as to whether Hagrid would mind bending a few rules to get his hands on a dragon (Hagrid was known for his ability to love even the fiercest creature), Lily was pretty sure that Professor Johnson would not have allowed it.

Professor Johnson herself was a few steps behind Lily and Alice, talking to the marauders. Remus actually looked interested in what she had to say, while Peter was avoiding eye contact with anyone, Sirius was flirting, and James . . . wasn't there.

"Hey," said Lily suddenly, pausing and looking around. "Where's Potter?"

"Up there with Hagrid," said Alice. A slow smile formed on the girl's lips. "Why are you so concerned all of the sudden?"

Lily flushed. "I'm not worried about him, I just thought it was weird that he wasn't trying to flash that stupid smile in the professor's face."

"I don't know, Lily," said Alice uncertainly. "Maybe you're being a little too harsh with him. I'm not sure tha the would've been made head boy if he was the kind of guy you've been painting all these years." Alice glanced back and sighed. "Now Sirius, on the other hand . . ."

"Speak of the devil," Lily muttered as Sirius's voice called out, "Oh Liliekins, Allie-bear! Wait up!"

Alice and Lily exchanged looks but paused their steps until Sirius's group had caught up to them. Sirius Black had hair the color of his name – jet-black – and laughing dar eyes that always seemed to radiate a mischievous charm. He was James's best friend, and though the animosity between Sirius and Lily wasn't as intense, it still existed.

Remus Lupin hovered at Sirius's side, the only one in James's little group that Lily could actually relate to in any way at all. His robes were shabby, though beneath them lurked a brilliant mind and a helpful companion. He always looked like he had just been involved in a fight, his face cut up entirely too often while bruises shown on his arms and legs. Lily liked him, though.

Peter Pettigrew was the last of the seventh year boys in that particular group. He was tolerable, but altogether too dependent on James and Sirius. Peter hero-worshipped them, never leaving their sides, and that was one part about his personality that Lily could not stand.

"Hello Lily, Alice," said Remus politely.

"Hi," squeaked Peter.

"Greetings, all," said Lily. She turned to Sirius with an impatient frown. "Now what did you want?"

Sirius smiled charmingly. "I just thought you'd want to meet our new Magical Creatures professor, Miss Amelia Johnson."

Professor Johnson blushed. "Please, Mr. Black, I can introduce myself."

"Just trying to be helpful," said Sirius, shrugging. "And please don't call me Mr. Black – that's my father, not me."

Professor Johnson looked hesitant. "Do any of the other professors call students by their first names?"

"All of them except McGonagall," said Sirius, "but she loves me anyway."

"Oh. I was worried it would look unprofessional to refer to a student by his first name rather than his surname."

Sirius shrugged once more. "Black is a common last name, and I really don't like the strings that come along with it." His words were light, but his voice had a bitter edge. Lily knew that Sirius was not proud of his family; many of them had ended up, and rightfully so, in Slytherin.

"Well, if you would prefer it," said Johnson, perhaps noticing Sirius's tone. "I'm sure there's nothing too wrong about calling you Sirius." She glanced at Alice and Lily. "And what would your names be?"

"Definitely not Liliekins," said Lily angrily, glaring at Sirius. "My name is Lily Evans."

"And I'm Alice Chambers."

"Chambers . . ." said Professor Johnson thoughtfully. "That name sounds familiar."

Alice smiled. "You've probably heard it before – my parents are Aurors at the Ministry and they've been in quite a few _Prophet_ articles recently."

Johnson snapped her fingers. "That's it! I knew I had seen the name somewhere."

"So," started Sirius, "this is your first class?"

"Yeah. I've really got no idea what my students or my colleagues expect of me, so I asked Hagrid if he would mind helping me out with my first class."

"Wonderful choice," said Lily. "Hagrid has been waiting for an opportunity like this for as long as I've known him."

"He seemed extraordinarily nice to me," said Johnson. "When I first got here I seemed so incredibly out of place, but he didn't seem to mind that I was a newbie. He invited me for tea and we had a nice long chat – though he's not quite the world's best cook, is he?"

Sirius chortled. "Have you sampled his cakes yet?" Johnson shook her head. "Don't. well, I wouldn't if I were you. I wouldn't want to risk breaking one of those teeth and ruining that beautiful smile."

Johnson actually blushed, while Alice and Lily glanced at each other, desperately trying to conceal their laughter. Lily could hardly believe Sirius's guts to hit on a teacher, not that he hadn't been known to try such a thing before.

"Oh Padfoot, would you quit it?" said Remus wearily. "I swear, you couldn't go five seconds without doing that."

Johnson looked at Remus curiously. "Padfoot?" she repeated, sounding bemused.

Sirius waved his hand. "Long story. So, did you go to school here?"

Professor Johnson shook her head and explained that she had attended Beauxbatons Academy for Girls in France as a young girl. Now that she mentioned it, Lily did notice a lyrical sort of accent in the woman's voice.

"I moved here recently, to be with my fiancé," said Johnson. "He did come here, and if I remember properly, he was in school the same time that you all were. If my calculations are correct, he was a fourth year while you were first years."

"What's his name?" Sirius asked curiously.

"David Manchester."

Sirius blurted out excitedly, "I remember him! He was pretty cool actually."

"You know," said Lily, "your English is very good for having lived in France your entire life."

"Thank you." Johnson smiled, then explained, "I'm not French, I just lived there. My father was English, so I learned most of what I know of this language from him. My mother was actually German."

"You know German too?"

Johnson nodded. "Some. I can't speak it fluently, but I can recognize a few words."

"My grandmum is German," said Alice. "I never knew her – she died right after I was born – but according to my mum, she was amazing."

Their group walked on, lagging a bit behind the rest of the students as they discussed every topic imaginable. They had almost run out of conversation opportunities when they heard a despairingly familiar voice calling out to them.

"Oi!" shouted James Potter's voice. "Sirius! What d'you think you're doing? I've bee searching for you lot everywhere; Hagrid's going to be finished with the bloody lesson before you ever get there."

Lily glanced up; there was James, striding toward them with the proud air of one who considers themselves to be unrivaled at the top of the world. She rolled her eyes derisively.

"Hagrid hasn't started the lesson yet, has he?" Professor Johnson asked worriedly, biting her lower lip, as James drew closer. James shook his head.

"Nah," he said, "I was just trying to get this lump here motivated." James slapped Sirius heartily on the back. "Though I doubt attending a lesson has ever been any motivation. Your name is Professor Johnson, right, ma'am?"

Johnson nodded.

"Oh. Sorry for swearing, I didn't realize there was a teacher watching." James turned his famous "Potter charm" smile on the professor.

"Hey, Prongs," said Sirius, "you remember Davie Manchester?"

"'Course," said James amiably. "How could I forget him – remembering when he helped us set up that prank on Snivellus? But what's he got to do with anything?"

Sirius grinned. "Professor Johnson here is engaged to him."

James's eyes widened in surprise, but he smiled at Johnson. "Congratulations, professor," he said, extending his hand for her to shake. "What's Davie doing now, anyway?"

"He's training to become an Auror," said Johnson, accepting James's hand. "He's always been fond of the idea of helping people while still getting to smash a few heads." She rolled her eyes good-naturedly and smiled.

A grin was forming on James's lips in response to Johnson's actions, but it was immediately stunted as his eyes landed on Lily's cold expression.

"Hey, Evans," he said quietly, never taking his gaze off of her face.

"Hi," said Lily shortly, screaming at herself for responding at all. "How – how's Hagrid feeling? He wasn't looking too happy when I was talking to him before."

James smiled. "He's thrilled out of his mind to be teaching a class, but he's still stuck on the you're-all-going-to-be-leaving-me-this-year phase."

"I thought he might be," said Lily with a sigh. "Oh well, I guess there's not too much we're going to do about it."

"Guess not. Oh! I almost forgot." James grinned sheepishly. "Dumbledore asked me to remind you that we've got patrol duty tonight at nine o'clock."

_Trust him to forget,_ thought Lily, irritated, as she fought not to roll her eyes.

"Hey," said Alice suddenly as though just struck with a thought. "Did either of you speak to Lina this morning? I know she was looking for you. She had a question about Quidditch tryouts."

For some reason, Sirius plastered an entirely too innocent expression on his face when Alice said this.

"What?" Lily asked him warily. "You did see her, didn't you?"

"I didn't," said James, who was the Gryffindor Quidditch captain. He rounded on Sirius with an expectant smirk. "Though I have a fairly good idea of who she _did_ see . . ."

"I've honestly got no idea what you're talking about," said Sirius with a demeanor of unconvincing innocence. Then he grinned evilly. "But if I did see her, she made me promise not to disclose any information to these two." He gestured toward Lily and Alice.

Lily crinkled her forehead in thought. What would Lina want to keep secret? The possibility of a secret rendezvous between the two crossed quickly through her mind but it was countered by the fact that Lina already had a boyfriend, however far away.

Shaking her head, Lily motioned to Alice. "We should probably head up there if we ever want to get a view of what we're learning about today," said Lily. She and Alice said their good-byes and headed to the forefront of the students.

--

"Gather 'round, you lot, gather 'round," said Hagrid. He stood in front of an empty paddock, a wide beam on his face. At one end of the pen were two stables, where Lily supposed whatever they were supposed to be studying was lurking.

Professor Johnson, waving farewell to the marauders, hurried up to join Hagrid with a rather timid expression of her beautiful face. Hagrid waved his arm in a motion that suggested she take over.

"What we are going to be looking at today, and possibly for the next few weeks," began Johnson in a brisk tone, "are a creature that I'm sure many of you have heard of, though very few of you have seen. Personally, this will be my second time working with them. Hagrid, as I said before, was kind and fortunate enough to stumble upon some abandoned in the forest. He will probably be assisting with most of our classes." Lily couldn't help but notice how Hagrid looked immensely proud of himself at this.

"I am assuming that the majority of you have heard of unicorns?"

_Unicorns!_ Lily's spirits leapt. She had read about them, of course, but had never come in contact with one herself.

"Lily, Lily, did you hear that?" Alice exclaimed excitedly. "Unicorns! Why, I never imagined I'd actually get to _see_ one!"

Hagrid had already crossed the length of the corral and thrown open the door to the stable while the class erupted in eager mutterings. Three dazzling creatures elegantly stepped out, their magnificent heads titled up slightly as they observed the awestruck students around them.

Lily had never seen anything more beautiful in her life. They looked like ordinary horses, with one horn protruding out of their skull. Their fur was pure white, along with their hooves, and their flowing white manes appeared to have been made from silk. But the feature that struck Lily speechless, above anything else, were their eyes. They were so expressive, intelligent, almost as if she was looking into the eyes of a human rather than an animal.

"Unicorns normally travel in packs," said Professor Johnson. "They are a very family-oriented group of animals and hardly leave each other's sides. Though unicorns normally favor females over males – understandably, of course, if you look at the whole thing from a metaphorical point of view – they will adapt well to the change of gender if their caretakers treat them well. However, unicorns will only respond to the care of someone pure at heart. If you harbor evil within you the unicorns will refuse to allow you near them. They are extremely proud, but will humble for whomever feeds and cares for them."

"We aren't going to allow anyone to touch them just yet," said Johnson, to the complaints and grumbling of the Gryffindors, particularly the girls. Lily had to admit that even she was disappointed; she was dying to pet one. "Instead, I have reached the conclusion that it would probably be better to discuss the handling of a unicorn before you are able to handle them yourselves. Besides, I think they need a bit of time for adjusting."

Lily and Alice shared a small smile.

Johnson paused for breath. "It is usually easier for a girl to tame a unicorn than it is for a boy, because as I said unicorns favor girls over boys. While the boys may be able to pet the, I doubt the unicorns will let their relationship grow any farther than that."

Lily watched the grand creatures in fascination as Johnson continued on about what food each should be fed, in what quantities, and how life for a unicorn differs in captivity in comparison to the wild.

_You know,_ thought Lily, _I might actually like Care of Magical Creatures this year._

A.N. – Well, there you go. I guess you could say there was a little fluff at the end, but a terribly small amount . . .

Please review! Ideas or suggestions welcome!


	9. Chapter 9

A.N. – Wow, you guys rock! This is cool, I've gotten two reviews for the last two chapters compared to the one review I'm used to getting for each chapter. Yay! Well, this chapter is mainly filler (don't worry, the good stuff IS coming up soon, just not yet), but enjoy it anyway!

**Chapter Nine**

"I can't believe it!" Lina exclaimed angrily, stomping into the Gryffindor common room. "The first day back at school, and I've already been landed with a _seven-and-a-half foot_ essay!"

Lily glanced up sympathetically. "In what subject?"

"Arthimancy," grumbled Lina. "We've had what, _one day_ to study the material and he's already making us write essays on it?"

"Welcome to seventh year," said Emma lightly. "We didn't get any homework for Divination though, luckily. I don't think I would've been able to finish it all."

"Well," said Lily, "once you've all finished complaining I have something I'd like to show you – but I suppose it can wait if you're all too busy with homework and stuff."

"What do you want to show us?"

Lily grinned. "It's a surprise," she eluded, "but it'll be worth it."

Of course, curiosity won her friends over in the end. Lily felt bad about tearing them away from their studies, but she knew they would have more fun with what she wanted to show them than an Arthimancy essay.

As they left Gryffindor tower, Lily explained the special situation with the heads' tower.

"It's invisible to anyone that I haven't shown its location to," she said. "That's why I wanted you to see it, so you'll know where to find me in an emergency."

"Yeah," said Lina, pointedly avoiding Alice's eyes, "like the next time Alice has a wardrobe malfunction."

Alice glared sullenly. Lily hid a grin, remembering the day her friend had woken up on the morning of Hogsmeade weekend so excited for her first date that she had forgotten to change out of her pajamas and had pranced around the school until she realized her mistake.

They reached the gargoyles guarding the entrance to Professor Dumbledore's office and Lily led them down the same path that she had taken only the night before. Though she had only traveled it once, it was burned in her memory as though by magic. She wondered if it had anything to do with the enchantments that had been set on it.

Chauncey was sound asleep, as usual. _The lazy arse,_ thought Lily. _Doesn't he ever stop sleeping?_

"Chauncey," she said impatiently, "I've got to get in, and you're going to let me in – NOW."

The man in the painting didn't move, though his breathing was too fast and heavy to have been entirely plausible.

"You don't let me in and I'm going to have Professor Dumbledore switch you with the Fat Lady, who, as you know, guards the entrance to the Gryffindor tower," said Lily casually, twirling her wand between her fingers. "That way, you won't have to open just for myself and the head boy, but for _every single_ student that wishes to enter Gryffindor tower. And trust me, that's a load more than two people. So whichever you'd like."

The greasy-haired wizard opened his rheumy blue eyes in a rather scrupulous manner, his twisted scowl signaling that if it were possible for looks to kill Lily would have been dead about fifteen time over.

"You are an abomination!" Lily heard another portrait cry angrily just before she stepped through to the other side. "It is your duty to do as these students say – you were recruited by Headmaster Dumbledore himself for that very task! Though I'll never understand why he chose you, of all paintings . . ."

Lily turned to her friends. "You know," she said, "I have half a mind just to ask Professor Dumbledore if the portraits can be switched, because this same old routine is getting really old."

"Well," Lina started as she followed Lily through the portrait hole, "if you're that concerned about – _whoa_."

Emma and Alice, who had been chatting quietly amongst themselves, looked up at the sound of Lina's breathy exclamation and unconsciously added their voices to her. Lily grinned as she observed their reactions.

"This is your new common room?" Alice asked in a quiet voice full of incredulity. "You're kidding! This is like – this is like professor-quality or something."

Lina looked thoughtful as she surveyed the room. "I bet if I moved some of this stuff around I bet I could find room for my bed in here."

"You're not moving in here," said Lily, grinning, "not after I just got rid of you lot."

"Come off it, Lily, you know you'll miss us sooner or later."

"Now she won't," said Lina slowly, and Lily was surprised to see a smile dawning on her friend's face. "She won't miss us when she's got Potter just five feet away."

Lily scowled. "How many times do I have to tell you I don't like him before the message finally penetrates that abnormally thick skull of yours?"

Just then, there was a muffled scream and the portrait hole swung open. James Potter waltzed in, his windswept hair in a scruffy position that even he could not have managed without the help of a good ride on his broomstick.

"I thought I was the only one with an abnormally thick skull, Evans," said James lightly without looking in Lily's direction as he set his backpack down on the table. "You wouldn't _believe_ everything I've got to do tonight. I have to write up the Quidditch practice schedules tonight, or McGonagall's going to kill me. Not to mention the load of homework Professor Nickola landed us with in Arthimancy." He sighed. "Who the hell were you talking to anyway? The only time I ever hear you that agitated is when you're talking to me —"

Lily cleared her throat. James glanced up, noticing for the first time that they had company.

"Or talking _about_ me," he finished in a slightly hurt tone, correctly guessing their conversation topic. "Hello everyone."

"Hi James," Emma, Alice, and Lina chanted in a dull, rehearsed tone.

"We have a prefect meeting tonight too, Potter," Lily reminded him, rolling her eyes. "Should be absolutely _thrilling_. Apparently a few of the students are under the impression that Hogwarts food is too fattening, and they're petitioning for healthier choices."

James looked up in outrage. "You're not serious! Who would say something as stupid as that?"

"Try Anna Richby," said Lily wearily, sighing. Anna was a Hufflepuff, blonde, and roughly about the size of a toothpick except in areas where it mattered. She and James had dated for a while in their fourth year, before she had started expressing interest in Sirius. "And Emilia Davidson. I swear those two don't eat."

James groaned and muttered something about girls. Lily opened her mouth to retort, but was broken from her intentions at the sound of a high, piercing crash. Alice, face flaming, stood awkwardly above the shattered remains of what had once been a vase. Judging by her position, Alice had tried diving for it before it had hit the ground.

"Sorry," Alice muttered, whipping out her wand. "_Repario_." The porcelain fragments leapt up and cemented themselves together, forming a perfect replica of the original. "I'm such a klutz sometimes . . ."

Emma laughed. "You must have missed seeing me trying to fly a broomstick last year, Allie, if you think you're a klutz. Honestly, I don't know which was more embarrassing: Actually trying to fly and failing that horribly, or the, er, less than sound landing that followed."

"You're not that bad," said Lily, grinning. "I mean, after Madame Louise finished with you, you were looking as good as new."

"Hey, Lils," said Emma quickly, "d'you mind if we go have a look at your dormitory? You can stay and chat. I know you've got some . . . catching up to do." Emma's eyes danced significantly in James's direction.

Lily plastered a smile on her face to cover her annoyance.

"Sure, but I'm coming too," said Lily. "Follow me, I'll show you. It's really awesome."

--

The prefect meeting took longer than expected. By its end Lily was so tired that she was practically dead on her feet; James and many of the prefects did not look too far off from suffering the same fate. The debate had passed fairly quickly – apparently Professor Slughorn, whose turn it had been to oversee the meeting, was definitely on Lily and James's side. Lily repressed a grin at how loudly Slughorn would protest if he walked into the Great Hall one day to find his crystallized pineapple replaced by health-bars, not that it wouldn't do him any good.

The few prefects in favor of a change in diet had come to a compromise: Healthier snacks would be offered, but so would the not-so-nutritious snacks. "Free to pick and choose their own," Slughorn had concluded happily.

Lily was more than a little surprised when Chauncey opened without any needed persuasion or threats. When she inquired about it to the other paintings, they explained that a very frustrated James had decided to vent his anger on the man in the portrait after Chauncey refused him entry. The paintings had assured her, "He won't be givin' you much trouble for a while, dearie."

Lily was almost out before her head even hit the pillow. It had been a long day, and she was only too happy to meet the dawn of yet another new day.

She was soaring high through the sky, an incredible surge of ecstasy pounding through her veins as her hair whipped and twisted rebelliously in the air behind her. Somewhere along the line her ponytail must have come out . . . Lily shook herself and squashed the trivial observation.

Glancing down, Lily felt her breath catch in her throat. Stretched across miles beneath her was a seemingly endless expanse of ocean . . . The dark, churning water made her stomach dissolve into knots. She couldn't swim . . .

The only think keeping her aloft were her arms, which she had spread out in the air as though they were wings. _These aren't going to hold me up,_ Lily realized with a sudden twinge of panic. She looked down . . . Was the water getting closer, or was she just delusional? No, no, she was moving too fast to be flying lower . . .

She was falling! Descending at an incredible speed, Lily watched in horrible fascination as the waves drew closer . . . She was flailing her arms madly, trying to keep out of the water's reach, but it wasn't helping . . .

Then, just seconds before she would have hit, the dream changed. Now she found herself standing in the center of a room – it looked like a ballroom, judging by the design of the floor and the elaborate stairwells on either side leading to a balcony. On the balcony . . . Wait, was that a person?

Brimming with a sort of surreal curiosity, Lily bolted up the steps, legs moving as fast as she could possibly have made them . . . What if they were already gone, what if she was too slow?

"Hello?" Lily called, answered only by the echo of her own voice reverberating through the old castle halls. "Hello, is anyone here?"

She thought she heard a sound, and with no other lead she took off in the direction of the commotion. Lily was confronted by yet another balcony, this one leading outside, where a tall figure was leaning bent over the edge – bent over the fence, the only thing keeping it from falling to the ground below.

Lily hurried forward, intending to pry whoever it was away from the gate, but she took two steps and then . . . There was a horrible, resounding crash as the iron bars broke away from the wall. The shadow went flying. Lily leapt forward, trying to reach out and catch him . . . it was too late, they were gone, gone over the edge to their doom . . .

"Lily?"

The voice, oddly serene and hazy – dreamlike – startled Lily and she whirled around. Behind her stood a beautiful woman in an elegant white ball-gown, hovering a few inches above the tiled floor. Lily could not really see her face, though her hair was quite clear; it fell in luscious brown curls to midway down her back.

"What – what do you want? How do you know my name?"

"I know you just as you know me, and that is how it shall be forevermore," said the angel (angel was the only way Lily could think to describe the woman). The angel's dress floated softly on the gentle breeze. "Someday you will come to discover how that can be so, but I have come to advise you on the routes you are to take until that day comes."

_I must be dreaming,_ Lily thought wildly. _This _has_ to be a dream._

"Excuse me," said Lily, "but who are you?"

"Have I not just answered that question? Someday you will discover my true identity; until then, I am whomever you would like me to be."

"Who are you now?"

The angel replied, "You can answer that question yourself, my dear, if you look deep enough within."

The image began to fade. Lily found herself, involuntarily, moving farther and farther away until the woman became only a speck in the distance.

Lily sat bolt upright in her bed, breathing heavily as though she had just run a marathon. _Wow,_ she thought, _that was weird._

A.N. – I guess that chapter was shorter than my other ones, but oh well.

I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed:

**orangeokapi13** – I'm glad you like it!

**AzNpRinCeSsWaRrioR -** don't worry, it will happen soon . . . ;)

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**orangeokapi13**

Sorry, but this is awesome! You have no idea how awesome this feels!

REVIEW!


	10. Chapter 10

A.N. – Hello again! I just put another story up (yes, it's going to be a chapter story even though I vowed I would finish this before I put another story up – I couldn't help it!) So this one might be updated every other day instead of every day so I can have a chance to catch up on my other story. Sound good? I think so. Anyway, thanx to QueenOfTheSidhe for reviewing!

Chapter Ten

The next few weeks flew by so quickly that Lily found herself wondering where all the time had disappeared off to. Though it was only November, and the N.E.W.T.S. were to take place in May, their professors had already begun preparation for the exams. Lily was one of those who had expected this, but even she was surprised at the lengths their teachers were going to ready them.

Professor Johnson was one of the easier ones. She had divided the Gryffindors into groups of about twelve, and assigned each group one unicorn. Johnson then divided up their schedules and gave each student from each bunch a period when they were expected to report to the unicorn pen and care for the animals. It was a dizzying project, as it was hard to communicate with the other members of the group – not to mention how hard it was to tell whether the other students in the group were actually doing their jobs correctly.

Professor McGonagall was being particularly brutal in Transfiguration. She loaded the seventh-years down with so much homework that it was driving many of them into the late hours of the night – Lily included. She found it incredibly hard to fit any room for free time into her schedule recently, a fact that nagged her like nothing else.

"These are rudimentary skills essential in the process of human transfiguration," McGonagall had impressed upon them. "Though human transfiguration is incredibly difficult and I doubt whether any of you will master it ever in your lives, it is imperative that you learn this."

Lily noticed with some agitation the sly smirks that lit up the faces of James and Sirius as McGonagall said this. The shadows of a smile were even present on Remus and Peter's faces. So they though they were that good, did they?

"Hey, Evans," said Sirius after Transfiguration, an insane grin spread across his attractive features. "What did you think of the lesson?"

Lily shrugged. "Interesting enough, I guess."

Sirius lowered his voice to a whisper and said in a conspiring tone, "Wouldn't it be even more interesting if you could actually pull it off?"

"Probably, but I don't think any of us here will ever have to worry about that."

"You'd be surprised —"

"Sirius!" Dorcas Meadow's voice snapped impatiently from somewhere behind them. "What are you doing? We'll be late; didn't you promise me you'd actually be on time for once?"

Sirius turned to the girl, a teasing sort of smile plastered on his face. Dorcas Meadows was a singularly beautiful witch and an amazingly talented Quidditch player – she was another of James's fellow Chasers. Sirius offered her his arm, which she accepted with splendid dignity.

"Oh! Hi Lily, I didn't see you there." Dorcas offered her a kind smile. "Were you talking to Sirius? I suppose I could wait a minute or two if you had a conversation you wanted to finish up —"

Lily shook her head. "No, that's alright. Sirius was just being a pest, as usual."

"Hey! I resent that!"

"Really? I though you would've taken pride in that reputation."

Sirius grinned. "Well, y'know, you have to keep up appearances in situations such as these . . ."

"Such as what?" Dorcas demanded. Lily only smiled as she moved past them.

--

James was already busy at work in the common room when Lily arrived. She absently watched his quill fly across a piece of parchment for a moment before coming to her senses.

"Lots of homework?" Lily asked lightly.

James groaned in frustration. "Loads. You've got no idea how difficult this bloody Charms essay is."

"Yeah, actually, I do. I'm in the same class as you, remember? I finished mine up last night, though."

James snorted. "Oh, well let's all hail Lily Evans, great and powerful master of the Charms essays. She has this incredible ability to make herself look better than everyone else —"

"What are you talking about?" Lily fumed. "I do not try to make myself look better than anybody – that would be you."

"Snippy tonight, hmm? I bet you've finished your transfiguration essay as well, haven't you?"

Lily hesitated. "Well, no . . ."

"You haven't? This is definitely a moment for the history books." James adopted a high-pitched voice that Lily guessed was supposed to be an imitation of her own. "I finished mine last night."

"It's not my fault! Transfiguration is way too complex for me to figure out on a whim. Do you know how long it's going to take me to look up all this information? I'll be lucky if I get any sleep at all tonight."

James looked oddly pensive, and his quill paused in movement for a second.

"If you help me out with Charms," he began slowly, "I'd be glad to help you out with Transfiguration. It's my best subject, you know."

Lily considered it. The option: Hook up with James Potter on an assignment and get an O, or keep your pride, try to tackle it on your own, and get a T. somehow, the latter one almost sounded more appealing than its predecessor.

Lily sighed, but pulled her stool out from beside her desk and drew it up to James's. "Fine. What do you need help with?"

"Everything," James admitted. "I don't get it. I can perform the charms fairly well – my spellwork isn't bad – but I just can't put it down on paper."

"What's the topic again?"

"'Tell why modern Charm masters have been focusing most of their genius on finding suitable cures for muggle diseases that are not contractible to those of magical blood and describe the significance of their discoveries, using face and details to support the theme.' Easy. Simple. Piece of cake. Now, what the hell am I supposed to do?"

Lily leaned forward in her seat. "There was an article in Charms for the Ages that discussed the same thing. From what I understand, Charmers have been putting a particular emphasis on finding the cures for muggle diseases ,even though witches and wizards can't get them. The scholars in the piece attributed it to the fact of the Charmers finally discovering why magical-blooded people can't get the diseases – apparently, there's something in our blood that stops the germs and stuff from getting through our body's defenses in their blood become more and more watered down until, eventually, there will be none of it left in anyone's blood. And then —"

"And then we'll be susceptible to the diseases," finished James for her, comprehension dawning on his face.

Lily nodded grimly. "So the Charmers are figuring that if they find a way to wipe out the diseases altogether, we won't have to worry about a change of that magnitude."

"We could just heal them with our magic if we ever caught them though, don't you think?"

"Well, there would probably be a way for that to work if we spent years studying it. See, the only hindrance to your theory is that, if you'll notice, these sicknesses we're talking about have never posed any threat to anyone of magical blood. We've never had to worry about them before, and no one with magical blood in recorded history has even gotten any of them. So who's to say whether we will be able to cure them if we've never tried it out ever before."

While Lily talked, James scribbled notes at an incredible speed. He seemed to be writing down her every word for his essay, or for general knowledge, she wasn't sure which.

"Does – does that answer your question?" Lily asked tentatively, worrying that she may have talked too fast or brought up topics too difficult for James to understand. She needn't have worried, for he seemed to have registered and understood it all.

When he had finished, James looked up at her with a smudge of ink on his nose. His smile was gentle and grateful.

"Thanks," he said.

She tired to fight it, but an answering smile rose to her lips despite her wishes. "You're welcome. Now it's your turn."

"My turn?" There was a touch of amusement in his tones.

Lily crossed her arms and tried to look fierce, though she was doubted as to the effect of her actions. "Yes, your turn. You promised me you'd help me on my Transfiguration essay if I helped you with your Charms."

"Promised? I don't remember promising you anything." James flashed her a cocky grin, hands behind his hand as he leaned back on the two legs of his chair with a languid air. Lily glared at him.

"This isn't funny, Potter, I've got tons of junk to finish tonight and I really don't fancy having you —"

James returned to his chair to its normal position and held up a hand. "Calm down, Evans, calm down. I'll help you, just bring your work here."

Narrowing her eyes at him even still, Lily retrieved her books and sat down as James launched into a full description of transfiguration processes.

--

"No, no, you've got that wrong."

"Have I?" said lily, green eyes scanning over her work. "Where?"

James pointed to her second sentence. "There. Animagus don't choose what form they are to take on, it is chosen for them. Based on the personalities and qualities of the person transforming, more than likely."

"But I thought you said —"

"I definitely didn't say that, Evans," said James, raising an eyebrow as he reread her paragraph. "Nor did I say that." He attracted her attention to her third paragraph, where she had written about the conditions necessary for human transfiguration.

"Yes you did!"

"No, I didn't. I never said you needed to be alone when you transfigure – look at McGonagall. All those times she's hidden on Sirius and I, sneaking up on us in cat form whenever we were late to her classes. She wasn't alone all of those times; usually, she had a whole class watching."

"You did mention solitude, though," said Lily stubbornly, "I swear you did."

"Well if I did, it had nothing to do with Transfiguration." Then, much to her surprise, his face broke out in a reluctant smile. "Look at us," he said. "We are so pathetic. Can't even discuss homework without ending in a fight."

"Tradition," said Lily in a jokingly somber voice, sighing, before her face split into a grin. "I guess it's just habit with us, isn't it?"

James sighed too, but his exhale seemed less lighthearted than Lily's had. "Yeah," he repeated faintly, "habit."

"So do you think you've got Charms down yet?" Lily teased, drawing a smile from James.

"That one subject, maybe. That is, if I could understand anything of that disastrously long speech of yours."

"Of mine? You were the on who talked so fast I couldn't even copy the right information!"

"Only because you were distracted, not because I'm a good tutor."

Lily snorted. "Distracted? By what?" Recognizing the expression on James's face almost immediately, she held up her hand. "Never mind. I'm not sure I want to hear the answer to that."

"Oh come on," prodded James. "I know you know what was so distracting . . ."

"Please."

"Apparently you've got a faint idea, if you're already defending yourself against it."

Lily stared at him. "You really don't want any more help in Charms, do you?"

"Hey, you don't help me I don't help you. It's a fair deal both ways whether you'd like to admit it or not."

"Fine," said Lily grudgingly.

James extended his hand. As Lily stared at it, she found her thoughts conflicted. It was only homework help, after al, but this was still James Potter – the arrogant bully that she loathed so deeply. But still, if she didn't have his help she would more than likely fail the class.

"You don't – you don't have to, if you don't want to."

Lily had only to hear the note of desperation in James's voice and the pleading set to his face before her mind was made up. Concealing an inward cringe, Lily held her arm aloft.

They clasped hands, the beginning of a promise that would one day mark the beginning of the end.

A.N. – A little bit of L/J fluff for you all — not much, though. Still . . . it'll develop . . . eventually . . . :)

QueenOfTheSidhe:I'm glad you like it! Thanx for putting me on your favorites list!


	11. Chapter 11

A.N. – HAPPY NEW YEAR! Sorry I took so long to update, but I've been focused on updating my other story for right now (which, by the way, you should really read!!!). Thanks to all my reviewers.

And without further ado . . . chapter eleven!

**Chapter Eleven**

The seventh year students finally had something to tear their minds away from the looming threat of the N.E.W.T.S., if only for a night. The Halloween Feast was fast approaching and Lily, along with several others, was really looking forward to it. While there was really no set theme to the start-of-term feast, the Halloween celebration took its lead from the holiday. Hagrid had harvested several of the pumpkins in the garden by his hut and hauled them into the Great Hall, where they had been positioned in various locations throughout the facility. Many of them had been placed in front of the High Table, so oftentimes the professors were obstructed by an enormously large, round, orange pumpkin.

Still, even in the light of the holiday the professors had not lessened their distribution of homework. In fact, if Lily was to guess, she would have said the supply was getting heavier rather than lighter.

Her tutoring sessions with James were among the things she actually looked forward to. Usually they met on Friday evenings, unless one had a particularly rough piece of homework or had been completely thrown-off by a topic that had been broached in class. Lily was reluctant to say that she and James might have been – at the very least – getting along, but they were hardly fighting as much as they once had. Their relationship, Lily often reflected, was a lot more complex than anything they had covered in Transfiguration.

Things were going well for Lily's friends as well. Quidditch tryouts were scheduled to take place two days after the Feast, and James (who captained the team) had reassured Lina that she had a fairly optimistic chance of being reinstated as Chaser. Seeing as the competition consisted mainly of inexperienced third-years, Lily couldn't help agreeing.

"That lesson was bit of a pain, wasn't it?"Emma complained as they exited greenhouse three, nursing their cut and torn fingers. Professor Bud, the Herbology professor, had decided to let them have a go with the flesh-eating plants. Unfortunately, they now had the scars to prove it.

"Do you mean in the literal or metaphoric sense?" Lily joked. "Come on guys, I'm sure it could've been worse. She could've brought out Devil's Snare or something."

Emma snorted. "Yeah, and have it kill us all. Do you have any idea what James and Sirius would do with a supply of Devil's Snare? Oh, I can just imagine it right now."

"Potter and Sirius make it their job to wreak havoc on the school anyway," said Lily. "I doubt we'd see much of a change even if they did manage to get a hold of some of the stuff."

"You'd be surprised," said Lina, who had been uncharacteristically quiet during the exchange. "You really get a better picture of some people after working with them for so long. If you want my honest opinion, Lily, I'd say you're mistaken about the two of them."

"Whose side are you on, Lin? Every time this subject is brought up, you side with the pair of them over me."

Lina grinned. "Well, I mean, you can't སྭ"

"Miss Chambers!"

Caught by surprise, the group of girls spun around to see who was addressing their friend. Professor Bud was standing in the doorway of the greenhouse; it had been her voice that had startled them.

"Miss Chambers," said Bud, "I would like to talk to you for a moment if you have the time."

Alice looked up at her friends, a flicker of fright evident in her dark eyes.

"Come on, cheer up, Allie," said Lina. "It can't be anything bad – your Herbology grades are better than everyone's."

"I guess I'll see you in the common room then," said Alice before hurrying to Professor Bud's side. Lily watched her go, shaking her head slightly.

"Allie's a really pretty girl,"said Lina, causing Emma and Lily to raise their eyebrows. "I mean, I wouldn't notice usually. It's just, with her looks she could probably land any guy she wanted. But she doesn't go after them. I just don't get it."

Emma whispered, "That's because she doesn't want to chase after just any guy. She's got her eye on one in particular."

"Who?"

"Frank Longbottom, of course! She's been head-over-heels for him since they met in fourth year – do you remember that?"

Lily smiled. "How could I forget?"

"Yeah," said Lina nostalgically. "That was the first time we ever managed to convince you two" – Lina gestured toward Alice's back and Lily – "to sneak out after curfew. You were both completely lost, and I think it was Alice who ran into that suit of armor, remember? I thought we would get caught for sure, with all the noise you both made, but fortunately, luck was on our side. Until we ran across this shy little – well, not little, I suppose, he was our age – boy. He told us he wouldn't turn us in because then he would get in trouble too. Do you remember that?"

By now, Lily and Emma had both dissolved into laughter at the memory. The look on Alice's face when Frank cornered her had been absolutely priceless.

"I swear she looked like a tomato!"

Alice skipped back over to their group, clapping her hands together delightedly as she gave off a joyful little shriek. The girls were taken aback by her behavior and immediately stopped laughing.

"What's the matter?"

"What did Bud want? You're not in trouble, right?"

"You idiot, if she was in trouble, do you think she'd look this happy?"

Alice held up her hand in a move for silence. Once they quieted, she squealed, "_I'm going to be the assistant Herbology teacher!_"

Three pairs of stares met this statement. Lina looked incredulously disbelieving; Emma simply gawked at Alice with a slack jaw; Lily felt a strange stirring of emotions ranging from jealously and envy to pity and pride.

"Congratulations!" said Lily cheerfully, the first to regain her senses. "We told you your grades were amazing!"

Lina scoffed and said, "Correction: _I _told her."

"Well don't brag or anything," Emma teased good-naturedly. "That's really cool, Allie. I know you'll have fun."

"Yes, I know. Can you imagine how great this will look on an application to the Ministry?" Alice wanted to work for the Ministry of Magic, in the Department of the Misuse of Magical Plants and Herbs office.

Lily smiled. She was happy for her friend, happy and envious at the same time. She still wasn't sure if she would be able to land a job when she graduated, but she was hopeful; being Head Girl had to score her some points.

"I'm _starved_," groaned Lina as the four of them headed back to the Great Hall for lunch.

"You look it, too," Lily joked. "Come on, Lin, you're always hungry."

Lina nodded. "Exactly. I'm always hungry, not always starved. This is a really low point for me, Lils – have you ever heard of a little thing called sympathy?"

Lily and Emma rolled their eyes; Alice looked too absorbed in her own thoughts. Alice was concentrating so hard that she didn't notice she was about to run directly into someone until they collided. Lily whirled around at the sound and smirked.

Alice was on the round, wincing as she rolled over to her back. Frank knelt beside her, the look on his face one of shock and embarrassment. Alice's books and papers were scattered around and being blown in the wind. Lily, Emma, and Lina hurried to catch them, leaving Alice and Frank by themselves.

--

Lily smirked as she lifted the goblet to her lips and took a sip of pumpkin juice. Emma and Lina were chatting excitedly beside her, each making up their own theories on how Alice's meeting with Frank could have gone.

Emma, a hopeless romantic, came up with this long, elaborate description of Frank apologizing for knowing her over and then confessing his deep an meaningful love for Alice. She wasn't too happy when she caught Lily and Lina sniggering.

"What?" Emma snapped angrily as Lily and Lina exploded in laughter. "It wasn't that bad! At least I was using my imagination! I'd like to see either of you top that."

"Yeah," Lily chortled, "you were definitely using your imagination."

Emma glared half-heartedly at Lily. "Shut up, Lily. I don't see you speculating on this unexpected turn of events."

Lily raised an eyebrow. "Am I supposed to?"

Emma shrugged.

"Well, I'm not as pathetic as both of you, so I'm just going to wait for Alice to tell what really happened instead of coming up with a load of unbelievable rubbish." The girls' conversations were often like this; the scoffing and name-calling was all in good fun.

Alice burst into the Great Hal and sprinted to their group, shrieking the entire way. Several students shot her dirty looks and covered their ears, but to her they were all forgotten.

"You won't believe it!" exclaimed Alice when she reached them.

Lina said dryly, "More good news for you today? Boy, do I really feel pitiful now."

Lina's words seemed to slide of Alice's elated demeanor. "No, no, I'm serious. You really _won't believe_ this!"

"Try me," said Emma.

"Alright." Alice's face was flushed. She lowered her voice to a whisper and motioned for them to come closer, which they did, forming a huddle in the center of the Great Hall. "Frank just – he just asked me to go with him next Hogsmeade weekend!"

Lily, Lina, and Emma squealed girlishly and offered their congratulations. It wasn't every day that one of them landed the boy of their dreams.

"How did it happen?"

"Was he all sappy when he said it? Say no, just to annoy Em . . ."

"Come on, guys," said Emma, grabbing their arms and dragging them behind her. "Let's go up to the dormitory. Don't want to risk being overheard."

"Yeah," Lina agreed. "No one knows how many of Alice's jealous suitors would go green with envy, which is really a spectacularly unbecoming color when it resembles someone's flesh." Alice punched her lightly on the arm in response.

--

Much keener to cooperate after his encounter with James, Chauncey swung open for Lily almost immediately, glaring and muttering underneath his breath something about "silly girls."

Unfortunately, the common room was already occupied.

James was lounging in his chair by the fire, twirling his wand, while Sirius was sprawled out on the couch flipping through a magazine. Remus had made his home on James's desk stool and Peter sat on the ground, looking distinctly uncomfortable.

"Hey, Evans," said James casually from his spot. Remus and Peter waved their greetings.

"Welcome home, sugar," said Sirius playfully, leaping up and grasping Lily by the arm until he had her pulled down on the couch with him. "I've missed you."

"Missed you too," said Lily sarcastically, and made to stand, but Sirius held her down firmly. "Sirius, let go."

Sirius pouted. "Oh, but baby, I haven't seen you all day. It's been a nightmare stuck here without you."

"You've got Potter," said Lily. "I'm sure he wouldn't mind filling in for me; he's used to playing the female in the relationship. Oh, and Peter, you know there's an extra fold-out chair in my dorm, if you'd like me to go get it for you."

Peter hurriedly shook his head.

"You think I'd swap you for Prongs, darling?" asked Sirius with a teasing grin, his dark eyes full of mischief. "Any guy that wouldn't fall for you has to be out of his mind."

"At least we know half the guys in the school are insane, then," said Lily, rolling her eyes.

"Are you kidding?" James asked suddenly. "More than half by a long shot."

"You would know," Lily muttered.

"Look," said James in a rush, "I'm not going to be able to make tonight – I've got something I have to do."

Lily was disappointed, but she made a valiant effort not to let it show. "It's okay." She hoisted a grin that felt completely fake. "We've got all weekend, I guess, and I didn't get any particularly brutal assignments."

"I did," said James morosely.

"But you didn't even have Charms today," said Lily, still sitting in Sirius's lap.

"I had Potions," James explained. "I'm just as horrible in Potions as I am in Charms. And Astronomy, and Divination, and Muggle Studies . . ."

Lily laughed. "Now Muggle Studies I can help you with."

"You're going to have to. I've got to write a four foot essay, due Monday."

Lily grimaced. "Ooh. Harsh. What's it about?"

James rolled his eyes. "I have to list twenty different muggle appliances, explain their purposes, and tell when, where, and by whom they were invented."

"Ouch. And here I was thinking I had it hard taking care of a unicorn." Lily eyed him calculatingly. "Just how many N.E.W.T. subjects are you taking?"

"Too many."

Lily grinned. "I guess you'll be needing another firewhiskey tonight, then?"

James looked up, eyes wide and startled. "Um, what?"

"Don't think I don't know what you were drinking the other day," said Lily. "You don't get that kind of a reaction from butterbeer and pumpkin juice. And there I was, feeling completely lame with a mug of hot cocoa."

"I'll bet yours tasted better than mine though," said James, "especially the next morning." Lily laughed.

"I wouldn't know. I've never had ay, and I don't plan on having any either. It's disgusting, vulgar, and leads to irrational behavior. Not that you have to worry about the last bit – your behavior is always irrational."

"Hey!"

"Just saying." Lily shrugged. "It's devastating to think you've never realized it before."

James scowled. "I am not irrational."

"Then what d'you call it?"

James shrugged. "Over protective?" he tried. "Loyal? _Brave?_"

Lily couldn't help but laugh a little at the last suggestion. Counting off each on her fingers, she said, "How about arrogant? Self-centered? Conceited?"

"Do conceited people help those of lesser intelligence on their Transfiguration homework?" James asked in a tone of mock superiority.

"Do those of lesser intelligence really care what conceited people do?" Lily countered. She quoted, "'How haughtily he cocks his nose to tell what every schoolboy knows.' Jonathon Swift said that, did you know?"

"Do I care?"

"You should, as his words apply directly to you." Lily grinned an winked at James before snuggling into Sirius's arms. Sirius, for his part, looked took aback for a split-second before making his recovery.

"Aw, baby, there we go," said Sirius. "I knew she'd crack one day."

"No," said Lily, "I'm just tired and you're comfortable."

Sirius grinned broadly and James's face turned a brilliant shade of magenta.

"You don't mind if I fall asleep here, do you?" Lily asked him.

Sirius shrugged. "I honestly don't mind, though I think Prongs might have a bit of problem with it."

"And I honestly could care less what 'Prongs' wants. What kind of a nickname is Prongs anyway?"

The group seemed highly disconcerted with this new line of questioning.

"Long story," said Sirius lightly. "See, it all started the summer before our fourth year –"

"Sirius!"

Sirius held up a hand. "Let me finish." He winked at Lily. "Prongs here is still embarrassed about it. Anyway, Reus and I were spending the holidays at Prong's house. Ol' Prongsie had invited his girlfriend to spend Christmas holidays with him because her parents were out of town that week, and Remus and I were both there too. Well, Prongsie girl was pretty hot, and I was pretty determined to – y'know – so Remus and I decided we'd humiliate him in front of her. So we pulled a prank on him while he was asleep one night. The rest," Sirius eyed her, "you don't need to know."

"A little too detailed for my liking?"

"Probably." Sirius began stroking Lily's hand with one large hand. Lily would have normally told him to knock it off and hexed hm into oblivion, but she saw how angry James was getting and couldn't resist the fun.

"That feels good," Lily cooed. James cleared his throat loudly, eyes fixed on his paper though his quill wasn't moving. "Keep it up."

"This isn't fair," Sirius pouted. "You get your hair done and I don't get mine? What's the fun in that."

Lily grinned. "Alright, if you want me to . . ." She pulled out her wand and mumbled the incantation for a spell she had found in the library. When she had finished, Sirius tentatively lifted a hand to his hair. James, Peter, and Remus were determinedly keeping straight faces.

"What did you do to it? Does it look good?"

Biting down a laugh, Lily nodded. "Looks fabulous! You'll be the talk of the school."

Sirius flashed her a grin. "Cool. Can I have a mirror or something? This hairdo feels extremely weird."

"It only feels weird because it's new," said Lily placatingly, before adopting a mockingly shocked voice and saying, "You can't have a mirror! That would ruin the surprise! Now go forth among the students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and make them faint in awe at your amazing fashion statement."

"And what a fashion statement it is," muttered James, earning a warning glare from Lily.

Much to Lily's surprise, however, a slow grin began to spread on Sirius's face. _Oh gosh, _she thought, _he's actually buying it! Ha! I need a picture of this._

"I'm sorry, Lily my love, but I must go and fulfill your wishes." Lily slid off Sirius's lap and the boy stood up, proudly surveying the room. "I shall return, friends." With that, he was gone.

Lily broke down laughing, joined by Peter, Remus, and even James let slip a few chuckles. _What an idiot._

"You realize he's going to kill you when he figures this out," said Remus once he had calmed down a bit. "James, Peter, and I finally figured out never to pull pranks on Sirius concerning his hair in third year – he has one hell of a temper."

"Well," James commented, "except that time in fifth year we dyed his hair purple and let him walk around school with it for an entire day before he finally figured out why everyone was pointing at his head and laughing."

"The similarities between your prank and mine are positively alarming," said Lily.

James grinned charmingly. "Well, you know what they say."

"No, what?"

"Great minds think alike," said James, smiling.

Lily frowned. _Wonderful. Now I'm being compared to _Potter _after one lousy prank? Not fair._

Suddenly, James's countenance morphed into one of agitated fury. He whirled on Lily and glared. "What was that all about anyway?" he demanded. Lily stared blankly at him for a second, wondering what he was talking about. "You know, with Sirius? I though you hated Sirius as much as you disliked me?"

Lily shrugged, smirking as she caught on. "You know it was all just a joke, right? You were getting so frustrated that I really couldn't help but continue with it to see how angry you got."

James glared at her. "Thanks."

"You're welcome. Now if you don't mind, I've got some stuff to do." She stood up, brushing non-existent dust from her robes. "See you later."

Lily disappeared into her dormitory, grinning like a madwoman.

A.N. – Maybe the ending was a little out of character, but I was just out of ideas and that scene sort of appeared while I was typing and frankly, I sort of like it. Oh well! Love to hear your response!


	12. Chapter 12

A.N. – Hello again! I'm sorry I haven't updated for a while, but I tried to make this chapter a little longer to make up for it. I changed the summary, too, if you didn't realize. I didn't think they previous one had anything to do with the story, really. Anyway, here's chapter twelve!

**Chapter Twelve**

"LILIAN MARIE EVANS! I AM GOING TO _MURDER _YOU!"

Lily's eyelids flew open and she hastily rolled out of bed, making a mad dash for her bathroom. She ducked inside the room and locked the door behind her. Not long after, she heard the door to her dormitory crash open.

"Lily!" came Sirius's furious voice. "Evans, c'mon, where are you? Your death is about seventeen years overdue!"

Lily stifled a laugh. "I'm in the bathroom," she replied. "What do you want?"

"I already told you. I want to kill you! Now, if you aren't out in – two minutes – I'm going to unlock this door myself!"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," said Lily. "I'm, uh, taking off my face mask."

"What the hell is a _face mask?_ Is that some stupid muggle thing?"

Lily thought quickly. "Um, no, actually, a lot of the girls here do it every night. It's that green stuff you smear all over your face to, uh, rejuvenate your skin." Lily was making this up as she went along; having never used one before, she had no idea why they were used.

"And you take it off in the morning?" questioned Sirius, sounding disgusted.

"Yep."

Lily could have sworn she heard him mutter from the other side of the door, "So I guess Hannah _wasn't _joking when she said she had to put her face on! I'll never understand girls."

Lily grinned.

"So," Sirius began awkwardly after a few seconds, "how much longer do you thing you'll be?"

"Depends. I may not be done until, say, the start of my first class today." She was not keen to face Sirius's retaliation for what she had done to his hair. "Anyway . . . how has the situation been going for you?"

"What situation?"

"You know,"said Lily, "the one with your, er, hair."

"Lily!" Sirius roared. "How dare you mention that again, I'm —"

"— kill her?" a new, weary voice answered for him. "I've heard. Padfoot, what is the matter with you, stomping in here this early in the morning and yelling like that? You woke me up from a sound sleep!"

"You were there," grumbled Sirius angrily. "You know what she did to me last night!"

"Oh, you mean the thing with your hair?" Lily heard James chuckling. "Well, that was pretty funny."

"Was not!" Sirius objected. Lily smirked.

"Why are you standing outside Evans's bathroom, anyway?" asked James.

Sirius growled. "I'm waiting for her to come out," he responded. "Then I'm going to kill her."

"That's nice," said James carelessly. "What's she doing in there?"

"Taking her face off."

"_What?_" James choked, and Lily tried hard not to burst out laughing at his reaction. "Sirius, were you drinking last night?"

"No," said Sirius in a tone that suggested great personal offense. "Besides, you know I don't get drunk, Prongs. I'm just telling you what Evans told me – she said she was taking her face off."

"Lily?" James started tentatively. "Are you alright? I mean, do you need me to go fetch Madame Louise or something?"

"I'm fine," she reassured them. "But I would be much better if I wasn't being bombarded by death threats with every step I took."

There was a soft thump. "Ouch!" Sirius exclaimed. "What was that for? I don't remember hitting _you!_"

"You've got a pretty bad memory then, Padfoot," said James. "There was that time in first year, and then the summer after second year, and midway through third year, and during Christmas break in our fourth year, and when we were discussing Quidditch teams in fifth year, and when I went after the girl you liked in sixth, and —"

"And?" said Sirius expectantly. "I haven't hit you at all this year."

"Yeah, well, I guess I owe you one now. But you really shouldn't be hassling Evans like that! She's got a lot going on right now."

"Kiss-up," Sirius muttered, earning him another smack. "Alright! I'm sick of getting beat up on like this. Evans, if we happen to come across each other at all today, you should be expecting some form of payback. And I'm definitely not making any promises in the department of pranks."

"Wonderful!" said Lily in a falsely cheerful tone. "Now get to breakfast and leave me the hell alone!"

"See you later, sugar." And they left.

--

Lily glanced over her shoulder uneasily and caught James's eye. She nodded her head meaningfully in Sirius's direction, earning a shrug from James but nothing more. Rolling her eyes with impatience, Lily leapt from her seat the second Professor Binns's low drawl dismissed the class. She caught James's arm before he could leave the classroom and held him back.

"Yes?" said James, raising his eyebrows. "Is there anything you want?"

"Yeah," Lily hissed as the last student exited the room. "Has Sirius mentioned anything about pranking me yet?"

James grinned. Binns cleared his throat rather loudly, and Lily and James moved to the corridor.

"Well?" prodded Lily.

"Of course he's mentioned it," said James, "he and I have two-hour long discussions on pranking you every night."

Lily narrowed her eyes at him. "That's nice to know. Anything useful?"

"Okay." James leaned back against the wall and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Pay attention. First of all, avoid pumpkin juice or any other beverage you might be offered at all costs. If Sirius, Peter, Remus, or myself tries to hand you a food item, do NOT take it. I would also suggest you keep your wand on you at all times and have a decent shield charm. Keep on your guard. Sirius might try to shoot a curse from a distance while you're not expecting it."

"You could just warn me if he tried to do that, couldn't you?"

James shook his head. "No. That would be against our bylaws."

"Bylaws?" Lily repeated skeptically.

"The bylaws of the marauders," James explained. "Just a bunch of rules that we're supposed to follow, and one of them happens to be 'never warn the victim of a prank set by another marauder.' I'm already pushing the limit by telling you all of this."

"Hmm. So, you wouldn't break a bylaw even for me?" Lily stuck out her bottom lip and rearranged her face into the famous expression that always earned her a second-glance from professors and parents alike.

James shook his head frantically. "I can't! Sirius would know I'd tipped you off."

"Please?" Lily's big emerald eyes continued to gaze up at him. She hid a smile as she saw him struggling with himself. "For _me?_"

"Fine," conceded James with a heavy sigh. Lily clapped delightedly, beaming.

"You're amazing!" she squealed. Standing on her tiptoes, she gave him a quick peck on the cheek and hurried off in the direction of the dungeons.

--

Lina cast a wary glance at Lily as the redhead slid into her spot at the Gryffindor table for dinner that night.

"What's up with you, Lils?" asked Lina. "You're flushed."

Cursing her betraying complexion, Lily waved her hand dismissively. "It's nothing. I just had a little encounter with, uh . . . Filch."

"Filch?" said Lina dubiously.

"Yeah," Lily confirmed, trying not to expose the lie. "I got yelled at for using magic in the halls between classes and narrowly escaped detention." _Or I was just talking with Potter . . ._

"Detention!" Lina nearly shouted. "Lily, you've _never _gotten detention before!"

Lily shrugged. "I didn't get it this time, either. I managed to talk myself out of it." She dug into her food, looking up only when Lina let out a soft gasp. James had sidled onto the bench beside her.

"Hey, Evans," he said quietly. "Can you do a decent shield charm?"

"Why? Sirius-alert?"

James nodded. "Sometime during dinner. He's not here yet, that's the only reason I'm risking my neck for this."

Lily batted her eyelashes and smirked. "I thought it was because you couldn't resist my charms."

"I think you've spent too much time around myself and Sirius," James commented dryly. "Back to the point: Can you do a decent shield charm?"

Lily nodded. "Yeah."

"Is it detectable?"

"You can't see it, no."

"Put it up, then," said James. "I don't know what he's planning, but I figure if you've got a shield up then whatever he throws at you won't do too much damage. If he tries something totally underhanded – which he is apt to do, seeing as it _was _his hair – you realize that I'm not going to be able to warn you about it."

Lily nodded. James stood and took a step toward where Remus and Peter were now sitting, but Lily once again grabbed the crook of his elbow and pulled him back.

"Thanks for this," said Lily sincerely, looking him directly in the eye. "I know what Sirius would say if he saw you." James tilted his head to show his acknowledgment and gently removed Lily's fingers. As his skin brushed hers, Lily felt an unexplainable chill run the length of her spine. _How odd._ She watched him as he walked away before turning to meet her friends' grins.

"What?" she asked. Alice, Emma, and Lina shook their heads simultaneously and resumed their eating, each sporting similar expressions. Lily rolled her eyes and whispered a wandless shield charm.

Sirius staggered into the Great Hall and his fan club nearly fainted when he winked at them. The majority of the Slytherins, on the other hand, were not even bothering to hid their laughter. The Ravenclaws and many of the Hufflepuffs were desperately trying to conceal their chortling. Lily found she felt the slightest bit sorry for him, and probably would have been more regretful if the whole thing hadn't been so hilarious.

"Hello, Lily," said Sirius cooly as he sauntered up to her position. She mumbled her greetings through a mouthful of food. "Have you had a good day so far?"

Lily swallowed. "Absolutely smashing. I was a bit surprised, though."

"At what?"

"The fact that you haven't done anything to get back at me yet today, despite what you said earlier this morning," said Lily. "You've been remarkably well-behaved."

Sirius shrugged, a grin playing on his lips. "Yeah, well, you know me. Always on my best behavior."

Lily snorted. "Yeah, right. Shouldn't you be talking with your own friends right now, or do you just enjoy annoying me?"

"Is that a trick question?"

"Do you think it is?"

Sirius glared at her. "You know what I think? I think you crossed a line last night, sugar, a line that should never, _ever_, be crossed. There is a thin line between an amusing prank and outright humiliation. Do you know what that is?"

"Your hair?" asked Lily, finding his concentration on the subject incredibly funny.

"Exactly." With that, Sirius stood up and joined the rest of the marauders.

Alice cast Lily a sideways glance. "What did you do to him? He seemed awfully upset."

Lily was laughing too hard to answer her properly. "I'll tell you later," she gasped.

"Okay. Hey, is that Peter?"

Lily looked over her shoulder and saw Peter Pettigrew walking up to them with a goblet in his grip. _Here it comes, _thought Lily, remembering James's earlier words.

"Hello, girls," said Peter. "Lily, would you like a taste of this? I think it's called a banana-fruit-smoothie."

"No thank you, Peter," said Lily politely, "I tasted some at my cousin's fair last summer. It is really wonderful, isn't it?"

Peter nodded, daring an anxious glance back at Sirius. "Yeah, it is. Um, how about a pumpkin pasty?" He held out his other fist. "They're quite appealing deserts as well."

Lily sighed. "Yes, Peter." She was getting a bit annoyed. "I think I've eaten my fill tonight, though."

"Oh. Alright." Peter scuffled back to his friends.

"That was weird," said Alice. "Why did he keep offering you food like that?"

Lily's eyes darkened. "It's a long story. I'll tell it to you later, I promise."

"You've got a lot to explain later," said Emma.

"I know."

--

Lily found James sitting on the couch in their common room, diligently at work on his Muggle Studies essay.

"Having fun?" asked Lily, reading over his shoulder at the work he had already finished as she took her place next to him.

James glanced up and Lily noticed a smudge of ink on his nose. "Loads," he muttered darkly.

Lily laughed. "I'm glad. Are you stuck on anything, or are you alright?"

"I'm fine with this," said James. "How was dinner tonight? I was a bit caught up in my own affairs to notice if anything happened. I didn't hear you scream, so I figured nothing that horrible happened."

"It didn't," admitted Lily, "that was what I found most surprising. I thought you said he was going to pull the prank at dinner tonight."

James shrugged, leaning back on the couch. "I thought he was. Honestly, that's how he normally operates. I guess he made an exception for you."

Lily stared into the fireplace, the flickering flames reflecting in her deep eyes. "Maybe he heard about you sneaking information to me. Which, you should know, I am eternally grateful for. It might seem a little stupid, but I know how much you were risking by helping me."

"It was nothing," said James dismissively. "So he didn't fire a curse at you or anything?"

Lily shook her head. "Not that I know of. I suppose I'm correct in assuming that he isn't just going to let this go."

"It was his hair," James laughed. "He's never let his hair go easily, and I doubt he's going to let you off just because you're . . ."

"Because I'm what?"

"Because you're you," said James hastily. He returned to his essay, but Lily did not move.

"What does me being me have to do with anything?" queried Lily. "I know for a fact Sirius doesn't like me."

"Evans, you are so out of the loop that it's bloody hilarious."

"He doesn't like me, though?" Lily persisted, growing concerned.

"No," said James, "at least, not romantically. It is hard not to be attracted to you though, Evans, and even Sirius feels the effects of it sometimes. But no, he doesn't like you like that."

Lily sighed. "Well, that's a relief, because I —"

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

"Potter, is that your owl?" asked Lily, rising from her seat to pry open the window. A bundle of feathers zoomed through the opening and into the common room, perching itself on James's shoulder.

"Yeah," said James laughingly. "He's my mum's, actually. My dad bought him for her on their anniversary last year, but the whole family uses him."

Lily stroked the owl's feathers. "He's cute. What's his name?"

James rolled his eyes and said, "_Bertrude_. Gosh am I glad mum hadn't thought of that when they were naming me! Dad and I just call him Berty, though." James detached the letter from Berty's talon and unfolded it. His face clouded as he previewed the contents.

"What – what did it say?"

"You can read it," said James, handing the parchment to Lily. "It has to deal with you anyway, I guess."

The beginning of the letter was comprised of family information and motherly questioning, but Lily's eyes traveled down to the second paragraph and she began to read with increased fervor.

'_I am not supposed to be telling you this, according to Dumbledore and Moody, but I figured you and your friend – Lily Evans was her name, right? – deserved to know. Anyway, Cecile finished the handwriting analysis and we found a suspect. The thing is: the guy we think wrote the note escaped from custody the night he was to be shipped to Azkaban under the charges of murder and consorting with Death Eaters! We have some hints as to his location. Moody and Kingsley have already been sent out to search for him.'_

"Wow," breathed Lily. "That's a weird coincidence, don't you think?"

"It's not a coincidence," said James. "I just hope Moody and Kingsley can find him before the Death Eater gets a tip off that we're looking for him and moves his location."

Lily nodded her agreement and settled back into the couch.

"What do you want to be when you're older?" she asked James after about five minutes spent in silence.

James answered without hesitation. "I want to be an Auror. It's expected of me, you know."

"You do realize that you don't have to do something just because people expect it of you," said Lily quietly. "Take my parents, for example. They have always wanted me to be a lawyer, because that's what they do for a living. I just have no real interest in the subject at all."

"I didn't know your parents were lawyers," said James. "Do they enjoy the job?"

Lily nodded. "They seem to. It's hard sometimes when they have a major lawsuit, because it takes up so much of their time."

Lily and James dissolved into conversation, bringing up random topics such as favorite colors and favorite breakfast cereals. They talked for hours, and Lily was incredibly shaken to look up at the clock to find the time seven the next morning.

"We talked all night!" Lily exclaimed to a tired James, who yawned and grinned in response. "I have to take a shower!"

Lily ran from the room, wondering where the night had gone.

A.N. – Please Review!

Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter!

**BrazilianPrincess** – Was there enough LJ action in this chapter for you? I put in as much as I could, but I really don't want to rush their relationship. Don't worry, I promise it _is_ happening!

**Marauders Rox **– Lol! Glad you liked it! Was this a good enough reaction for you? The rest is coming in the next chapter!


	13. Chapter 13

A.N. – This chapter is mainly filler. This is part of Sirius's prank, but not the entire thing . . . The better part of that is coming up in the next chapter. If anyone has any ideas of what they would like to see, feel free to mention it in a review! Quidditch tryouts are going to be in the next chapter also, just to let you all know.

Oh, and on another note, I switched the genre from Action/Adventure to Drama, because for right now there really isn't any action. Tell me if you think I should switch it back, though I don't.

**Chapter Thirteen**

The coming of the end of the October month found four seventh-year girls lounging in the head girl's dormitory, passing around a bag of potato chips and throwing each other chocolate frogs. Downstairs, the hundreds of other Hogwarts students were gathered in the Great Hall enjoying the Halloween Feast.

"I still don't know why were not down there with the rest of people with actual _lives_," muttered Lina, stealing a handful of chips.

"Because," stated Lily reproachfully. "You know very well why we can't go down." She chanced a quick glance at Alice, whose face was buried in her hands. She and Frank Longbottom had just broken off their relationship, and the girls (being loyal, supportive friends) had retreated to the heads' tower where Alice could safely drown her heartbreak in chocolate frogs.

Lina sighed and, after a moment of incoherent mumbling beneath her breath, finally shut up – much to the relief of Emma and Lily (Alice was too wrapped up in her own sorrows to really care or pay much attention).

Emma decided to give comforting Alice a try. "He wasn't good enough for you anyway, Allie," said Emma softly, wincing and pulling a face as Alice's sobs grew louder. "I mean, he's the one missing out, isn't he?"

"Definitely," agreed Lily, looking at Lina who was nodding her head feverishly.

"Exactly! What kind of an arsehold breaks up with a girl as special as you after only spending a week of getting to know you?"

"T-that's just it!" Alice wailed. "I don't know what I did! He just w-walked up to me after Herbology — my first lesson, too! — and s-said he didn't think we were m-meant for each other. I don't know why!"

Lily frowned. This didn't sound like the mild-mannered, caring Frank Longbottom that she had known since first year — the one she knew had definitely liked Alice since at least third year. She made a mental note to check with James to see if he had any new information on the subject.

Until then . . .

"Hey, guys," said Lily suddenly, rising from the floor with a mad grin on her countenance. "Do you remember what we used to do when we were younger, when one of us was feeling a bit down?"

Emma caught on instantly, her own face breaking out in a smile. "Yeah. Don't you, Lin, Allie?"

Alice, for her part, simply looked bewildered. Lina was staring at Emma and Lily as though they had both grown three extra heads.

Lily and Emma exchanged a meaningful glance.

"PILLOW FIGHT!" roared Lily, laughing at her friends' stunned faces as she and Emma began beating them with pillows. Lina shrieked and gripped the nearest weapon, flinging it with as much strength as she could muster at Lily. The redhead ducked and the pillow hit Emma instead, who immediately sought revenge.

Within minutes, the hysteria of the battle had won out over the formerly-depressing atmosphere, and even Alice found herself laughing so hard she could barely stand. In the heat of the attack, Lily saw the door creak open out of the corner of her eye. James's face appeared, then Sirius's, then Remus's, and, finally, Peter Pettigrew's.

"Wow," she heard Peter say in awe, "so _this _is what girls do when they're alone . . ."

Lily squealed. "Boy alert! Boy alert!" Her friends went on the defensive and began looking around in alarm, their eyes landing simultaneously on the marauder's faces.

"GET 'EM!"

They charged at the door and flung it open to find four stunned boys stumbling backward out of the common room. None managed to make it out before the attack began again, except this time the girls banded together against the threat of the boys. Classic gender gap.

James picked up a cushion from the couch and flung it at Lily; it flew through the air and smacked Emma instead, so hard that the brunette fell to the ground with a look of shock on her face. Emma turned to James and glared, her eyes flashing dangerously with the promise of vengeance. Potter recognized the warning and let out a girlish scream, running around the common room with Emma hot on his tails. Sirius was in the process of . . . ahem . . . "beating up" Lina (which just happened to include a fair amount of snogging), and Alice was tickling Peter for all he was worth, the first genuine smile on her face since earlier that morning when she had come to them with news of her breakup.

Lily found Remus, his twinkling blue eyes laughing though he stood excluded from the festivities. Lily decided she would have to change that.

"Hey! Lupin!" she called across the room, drawing his attention and his curious stare. "Catch this!" Her pillow flew toward him and hit him squarely in the chest, and she had just enough time to catch his expression of stunned disbelief as he faltered backward.

"Oh, that's it, Lily!" he shouted, running at her. Lily shrieked hysterically and bounded, ducking out of the way of a flying pillow. Feathers were everywhere and if it weren't for magic she knew it would take forever to clean . . .

Remus raced after her. For a bookworm, he was surprisingly fast – _almost _fast enough to catch Lily. Fortunately for her, those laps around the lake every morning were finally paying off.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!"

Lily stopped dead, midway through pounding Remus with a pillow. Professor McGonagall, looking very harassed, stood in the doorway with very wide-eyes. Lina and Sirius jumped apart as though they were on fire, Alice and Peter stepped away from each other, and James and Emma lowered their pillows.

"_What_, might I ask, is going on here?!" said McGonagall. "You – well, first of all, why aren't you all at the feast?"

Alice was the first to answer. "I was having some, er, personal problems, and Lily, Emma, and Lina were only trying to help me."

"What about the – boys?"

"Well, we left early," replied James quickly, "because Sirius wanted to talk to me about some Quidditch strategies we'd been discussing and I had all the books in my room. So we came up here to get them."

"And how did that escalate into . . ." McGonagall waved her wand, "this?"

"That was my fault, I'm afraid," said Lily loudly. "As Alice said, she was having some personal problems and I thought we all needed some cheering up, so I did the only thing I could think of and staged a full-scale pillow war. The guys got involved because, well, we sort of found them spying on us and attacked them instead."

Lily could have sworn she caught a hint of a smile on McGonagall's face before the older woman turned without another word and left.

"I guess we should get this cleaned up," said Lily dejectedly to the others. She looked up from examining the mess to find her friends and the marauders sneaking out of the room.

"HEY! You lazy arses, get BACK here!"

"Sorry, sugar!" called Sirius, giggling insanely as he exited. Lily smacked herself in the forehead and vowed to get back at him later. Soon, she and James were the only two still in the room. James sighed, smiled at her, pulled his wand from his pocket, and muttered an incantation. Soon, the room was filled with objects zooming back and forth to their original positions. Within a moment everything was back to normal.

"Whoa," whispered Lily, turning curious eyes on James. His black hair was, as usual, horribly tousled and his glasses askew, probably a direct result of his fight with Emma. _He looks adorable like that, _thought Lily dreamily as he brushed the fringe out of his eyes, before realizing what had just crossed her mind. _NO! NO, NO, NO! I am NOT allowed to think about Potter like that, EVER! _

"So," James started uncomfortably, unaware of the conflict his presence was on Lily's mind, "what's the matter with Alice, or was that just a ploy to get McGonagall out of our faces? She looked fine, from what I saw."

Lily shrugged. "It's probably not my place to tell, but I guess as long as you promise not to laugh or let it slip to _anyone_, then I guess I could fill you in."

"I promise not to tell."

"Well, Frank broke up with Alice this morning for no known reason," said Lily. "Allie's been waiting for her chance with him for — ever, actually. I just don't know why Frank would hurt her like that."

"I've known Frank since our first year and on," said James after a moment's pause, frowning. His brow was furrowed, making him appear deep in thought. "As far back as I can remember, he's always had his eye on Alice. Their situation was sort of like ours — y'know, except for the obvious difference that the girl he liked actually liked him back." He grinned confidently at Lily, who returned it with a small, awkward smile.

James took a seat in his armchair. "I don't understand why he'd break it off, though. They were perfect for each other."

"Sometimes perfection is overrated," sighed Lily, settling into the empty chair. "Maybe Alice and Frank just realized that."

--

Grumbling profanities under her breath, Lily rolled out of bed the next morning, bringing her hand down so hard on the annoyingly loud alarm clock that it stopped buzzing immediately. _Yep, _she thought, _definitely a Monday. _

She turned on the shower and waited for the water to heat up to a bearable temperature before stepping in. While washing the shampoo out of her hair, she began humming a tune to herself. The sound was drowned out by the rush of the water.

The sound of the door to her dormitory crashing open, however, was completely clear. Lily froze and inwardly blessed the good sense she had to pull shut the curtain, even if the bathroom door wasn't locked.

"I AM GOING TO KILL YOU, PADFOOT!"

Damn. It was James.

_What is that arrogant prick doing in my dormitory? _Lily wondered irritably as she peered out from behind the curtain. The room had been stripped bare, void of her clothes and towels. _And where did all my stuff go? _She was beginning to panic; all her clothes were in her dormitory, which James was currently occupying.

"Potter!" Lily called. "Potter, what the hell do you think you're doing?"

Apparently James had decided to be courteous and didn't open the door. His muffled voice replied, "What're you up to in there, Evans?"

"I'm taking a shower, but all of my clothes – and my towels – seem to have mysteriously disappeared."

"You took them in with you, right?"

"DAH!"

"Damn it!" James cursed loudly. "Wait – do you have anything in here? In your bedroom, I mean?"

"Clothes? Yeah. I had an outfit picked out for today — it's in my third dresser drawer."

She heard James stumbling around in her room. A very loud exclamation from beyond the door caused her sense of panic to grow.

"What is it?" she cried, distressed.

James sounded too overcome with laughter to answer for a minute. Finally, he answered, "I need to learn to count. I, er, accidently went into the second drawer instead of the third."

Lily froze. He hadn't . . . He couldn't have . . .

"James Henry Potter!" she exploded, her voice echoing off the bathroom walls. "If you so much LOOK at anything in there, you will DIE!"

"It's alright, Evans," said James, still chortling. "Okay, I've got your clothes. Now what?"

"There are extra towels in the cabinet above the dresser," said Lily as she continued struggling to keep her cool. "Get one, bring everything in here, put it on the counter, and _leave_."

Lily's breath caught in her throat when she heard the door creak open and looked out from behind the curtain to see James step in cautiously. He laid her clothes and a clean towel on the counter as she had instructed and disappeared back through the door, closing it gently behind him. Lily breathed a sigh of relief. He had done what she wanted for once.

She quickly dried herself off and donned on the black tank-top and jeans she had chosen to wear underneath her Hogwarts robes that day. Once she had finished brushing her wet hair, Lily entered her dormitory — only to find that James was still there, sitting on her bed. She had expected him to have left.

"What are you doing here, Potter?" she asked him. His head snapped up from the magazine he had been reading and he offered her a partial frown.

"Sirius locked me in," explained James. "I couldn't find my broom, and he said you had it. So I came over to pick it up when the door closes behind me and I hear Sirius laughing his head off. I've tried every unlocking spell I've ever heard of, and none of it works."

Lily held her face in her hands and rolled her eyes. She snatched up her wand, walked over to the locked door, and said confidently, "_Alohomora._"

Nothing happened. Lily blinked in confusion before James's bored voice drew her out of her thoughts.

"Told you so."

Lily turned and glared at him, before hitting the lock with every spell she knew of. When still nothing happened, she gave up and joined him on the bed.

"Come on, Potter. You and Sirius are masters of getting out of situations like these; there has to be something we can do to get out. We have classes today!"

"I know," said James, "but there's really nothing we can do. We _could _fly out the window, _if _you had my broom, which you don't, so we're stuck until Sirius decides to take pity on us."

Lily leaned her head against the backboard with a sigh, her eyes drifting to the open magazine on James's lap. "What are you reading?"

"This? Oh, it's just something about Quidditch that I found on your vanity."

Lily glanced over to the book and blushed. The headline, which read: _Top 10 Hottest Quidditch Stars of the Season_, was blatantly obvious.

"I didn't buy it for that, you know," she said in reference of the title. "Though I do tend to look back at it every once in a while . . ." At James's raised eyebrows, she hurried on. "I bought it because there's a listing of all the good broom models of this year in the back, and I wanted to read it. Plus, the other articles in there are really interesting."

"I never knew you were interested in Quidditch," said James lightly, albeit curiously. "You always seem to disapprove of it whenever the subject is brought up."

"No, that's not it. It's just . . . Well, I'm a muggle-born, which means I went to primary school with muggles. Muggles have their own sports, all of which are really popular. You know, like soccer, or basketball?"

"I've heard of them."

"Well, I was never good at them. And because they were so popular, the whole social status was based on how well you played muggle sports. I could never play them, so I wasn't liked by anyone. I guess when I came here, I thought the same was true with Quidditch, and I was sort of prejudiced against it because of that. What about you? When did you start playing?"

James smiled. "I started as soon as I was old enough to ride a broom. I dunno, I've just been able to do it for as long as I can remember. It's . . . exhilarating."

"You'll have to teach me someday," teased Lily.

"Would you like me to?"

Lily was taken aback by the eagerness in his voice. She had only meant it as a joke, but . . . Hell, if someone was offering to teach her something she had dreamed of doing since a child, she was going to take advantage of it.

"Would you?" she asked.

James nodded. "If you'd like me to. It's really not that hard once you get the hang of it. When are you free?"

"Tomorrow afternoon," responded Lily immediately. "Is that good for you?"

Lily was put on edge at the sly smirk creeping onto James's features. She had known him long enough to tell safely when an idea was dawning – and it was exactly now.

"What?" she asked, nonplussed.

James leaned back, considering her. "I'll impart with you the legendary knowledge of star Chaser, Gryffindor team Captain, James Potter — if you go out with me."

Lily's first reaction was to frown. She hadn't heard a single pickup line from him, nor a request for a date, since the end of their sixth year, and she was beginning to like it that way. Of course he had to go and ruin his record.

But still . . . They _had _been much closer recently, to the point of being called "friends", and Lily hated to mess that up.

"Sorry, Potter," said Lily, making her decision, "but I don't want to learn that badly."

James's face fell, but he tried to hide it. "Aw, well," started James in a would-be casual voice, "I knew you wouldn't say yes. But if you'd like, I would still love to teach you."

"You would?"

"Totally." James laughed. "I can just see you screeching at the top of your lungs the second you leave the ground."

"I will not," defended Lily, but a chuckle left her lips. "Look, Potter, I'm sorry about . . . turning you down. I have this fear of commitment – ask Sirius." She and Sirius had dated, for about a month, during their fourth year. It haunted James to this day, from what Sirius told her.

"Don't worry about it." James waved it off. "There has to be more important stuff we could talk about . . . This has gotten a bit depressing. Not to mention the slightest bit boring."

Lily laughed. "Okay. Um . . . Anything new in your life?"

"Yeah. A girlfriend, actually."

"You have a girlfriend?" Lily choked out. "Why did you just ask me out, then?"

James grinned. "Well, see, I knew you wouldn't say yes, so I didn't figure I was really taking a chance."

"Okay . . . Although I don't agree with your reasoning, I have to ask: What's her name?"

"Norah Hammond," answered James. "She's a Ravenclaw, _extremely _smart, and beautiful. Very beautiful."

Lily swallowed the lump that had accumulated in her throat. "Oh. Well, I'll have to meet her someday then, because I honestly don't remember ever seeing her around."

"Easily explainable," said James. "She spends all of her free time in the library – and I mean _all _of it. That's where we met; I went down to ask Remus a question and he was, of course, in the library. She was looking up some junk on Herbology and, well, we hit it off."

Lily wasn't sure why she felt so . . . jealous? . . . all of the sudden. What did she care if James had a girlfriend? She didn't like him. Did she?

_No. Definitely not. Potter is the farthest thing from boyfriend-material._

Speaking of boyfriends . . . She didn't have one! It wouldn't have bothered her, normally, but she truly felt pathetic, being out-shown by Potter.

_Hmm. We'll have to fix that._

A.N. – Okay, I did not like that chapter, but maybe someone out there did! Whether you did or didn't, please leave a review! I've gotten addicted to them, I swear.

Also, if anyone knows any good Lily/James, Harry/Ginny, or Hermione/Ron fics, I'd love to know! Thanks!

Lots of Love to my reviewers:

**Super Smexy Snuffles: **I love your penname! Anyway, the second part of Sirius's prank is much worse but it's in the next chapter. Do you have any ideas of what to put in?

**hermione-G-wanna-be**: Thanks for reviewing! Oh, are you planning on writing any stories soon? I checked your profile and there aren't any up, but if you do decide to write one I would love to read it! Just to let you know . . . :)

**AzNpRinCeSsWaRioR:** I hope you liked this chapter; she's finally starting to get jealous! We'll just have to see what she comes up with to make James jealous back . . . I totally know what you mean by not being able to review. I haven't had computer problems in a while, but I was grounded for about a week (thus the slower update for this story). It completely sucked. Thanks for reviewing!

**An Angel On Ice: **I'm going to include Quidditch tryouts in my next chapter. They'll be interesting, hopefully! Thanks for reviewing!


	14. Chapter 14

**A.N. **– I'm so sorry! I realize it's been a while since I last updated, but I had midterms this week and mom kicked me off the computer so I would have more time to "study." I wrote most of this out on paper and transferred it to the computer when she finally let me back on this afternoon.

I was going to include Quidditch trials in this chapter, but I thought about it and once I had included Sirius's prank there was really no room left, in this chapter, at least. I'm sorry for those of you who were looking forward to it, but when it finally does come up, I promise it'll be worth it!

James's girlfriend wasn't mentioned much in this chapter, but believe me, she will come up later.

Hope you enjoy this!

**Chapter Fourteen**

Lily strode confidently into the Great Hall for breakfast the next morning, carelessly flipping her sheet of red hair over her shoulder. She detected more than one awestruck stare fixed on her, and hid a smirk. It was the first time she had ever really taken any notice to others' reactions to her presence.

Attention diverted only upon the loud call of, "Oi, Evans! C'mere!", Lily rolled her eyes and impatiently hurried over to where the speaker sat surrounded by his three closest friends.

"Yeah, Potter?"

James motioned for her to join him, and Lily quickly sat down. James glanced around quickly to ensure their privacy, then slipped his hand in his pocket and pulled out a wrinkled envelope. He raised his eyebrows at it meaningfully, and then jerked his head in the direction of the door. Lily, cottoning on, nodded in acknowledgment and followed him out of the Great Hall.

"What's that?" asked Lily once they were safely hidden from prying eyes.

"Remember what my mum wrote me, about that convicted Death Eater that Moody and Kingsley were tracking?" said James in a low voice. "The one who supposedly wrote your letter? You do recall her saying that he escaped the night he was supposed to go to Azkaban for murder?"

"Yeah? What about him? Did they catch him?"

James unfolded the letter and handed it to Lily. "I'm going to have you read it," he said. "You never know who might be listening."

Lily accepted the piece of parchment from his hands and began to read.

'_James —_

_I'm not going to waste any time on formalities right now, because I have some very important news to tell you concerning the problem we confronted earlier this summer. I don't want to reveal any of it in a letter, however, as we cannot risk it being intercepted. I have asked Dumbledore and been granted permission to use the Floo Network tonight. Meet me in the fireplace in your common room at nine o'clock this evening, and make sure the door is locked._

_Mum says to say she hopes you're having a good time in school._

_From, _

_Dad.'_

Lily finished reading and looked up in confusion. "Well," she started slowly, "this is all very mysterious, but what does it have to do with me?"

"Evans, I've already told you something that should have been confidential to anyone but me when I showed you that letter my mum wrote me," explained James. "I thought you would have _wanted _to be involved in all this, having received that note yourself. You're as into this as anyone else."

"I'll be there if you want me to be," said Lily, privately thinking to herself that he would probably prefer to be with his girlfriend than with her.

James smiled charmingly. "Would I have asked if I didn't want you to be there? Good day, Evans." He turned on his heel and walked away. Lily watched silently as his robes disappeared around the corner.

Pulling herself together, she headed in for breakfast.

"What was that about?" said Lina as Lily squeezed in beside her three best friends at the Gryffindor table.

"What was what all about?"

The other three girls exchanged looks, and Lina answered forcefully, "You. And Potter. Don't think we didn't all see you two disappearing together."

"Oh, it wasn't like _that_," said Lily. "We had some Heads' stuff to talk about. You know, meetings to plan, Hogsmeade weekends to schedule . . ."

"Uh-huh," commented Alice quietly.

"Look," defended Lily, firing up at once. "First of all, this is _Potter _we're talking about. You know I don't like him. Second of all, he has a girlfriend. Norah Hammond, that Ravenclaw."

Emma grinned. "You sound bitter."

"Bitter?" Lily spat incredulously. "_Please_."

She took a bite of her toast, ripping it apart with her teeth a bit more harshly than needed. How dare they insinuate that she might, possibly, LIKE James Potter? She shuddered at the thought.

Lifting her goblet of pumpkin juice to her lips, she took a large gulp. It tasted oddly . . . wonderful. She took another sip, and then another, and another . . .

At the end of the table, out of Lily's line of sight, Sirius and Peter exchanged victorious high-fives.

"Lily?" started Alice concernedly. "Lils, are you okay? You're downing that pumpkin juice like . . . hey!"

Lily had just grabbed Alice's goblet from underneath the brunette's nose, though for some reason, that beverage did not taste as good. She placed it down on the table sheepishly.

"Sorry."

"It's okay," said Alice, still gazing at Lily with something akin to worry. "You didn't drink too much, did you?"

"Don't think so. Um, I'll see you all later. I've got History of Magic with the Hufflepuffs in a few minutes and I'm going to be incredibly late." Lily nodded at them all and shouldered her bag, exiting the Great Hall, leaving three bewildered friends staring after her.

--

"Sorry I'm late, Professor," panted Lily, entering the History of Magic classroom about five minutes after the start of the period and taking her seat. She was completely out of breath, having just run five flights of stairs. "I left my book back in the common room and I had to go back and get it."

Professor Binns nodded distractedly and continued on with his boring speech about Goblin Rebellions in the 1600s. Lily observed him in fascination, the way his ghostly features crinkled as he spoke, how his wispy white hair fluttered agonizingly slowly in the strained breeze. His transparent pallor was suddenly so attractive . . . Why had she never noticed it before? How could she have overlooked a man like that?

Slowly, Lily rose to her feet. She was completely engrossed in staring at him, and the surrounding classroom started disappear around her. It was only she and him, handsome, adorable Professor Binns.

Binns did not even seem to have noticed the disruption, and his ignorance on her part was horribly frustrating. He didn't even know who she was! She was nothing but a student in his eyes, something she was intent on changing.

Lily made her way to the front of the room, ignorant of Sirius's loud sniggering and the curious whisperings of her classmates. Professor Binns had finally looked toward her, his dull – no, no, they were amazing! – gray eyes registering confusion.

"Can I help you with something, Miss —" Binns hesitated and looked at her expectantly.

"Evans," answered Lily breathlessly, "Lily Evans. I'm a seventh year, a Gryffindor. I'm a – I'm a muggle-born, sir, but this is definitely my favorite class ever! I mean, honestly, who wouldn't find Goblin Rebellions interesting?"

Sirius scoffed and replied quickly, but Lily ignored him.

"—and your teaching methods are just amazing! Just like – just like your eyes . . . and your face . . . Professor, I think I'm in love!"

By now, Sirius was rolling around on the floor laughing. His fellows Gryffindors were stunned at Lily's actions.

"Love?" repeated Binns dubiously, staring at her.

"Yes, love. You're so charismatic, and I know you're really very young, despite what Potter was telling me the other night —"

"What did I say?" shouted James, interrupting her sentence before she could carry it farther. Though he was just as bemused as his classmates, he still did not feel like getting in trouble. "That's what I thought!"

Lily rolled her eyes. "He is so immature. Completely unlike yourself, of course, you're just _so _mature and knowledgeable. I _love _that in a man."

Binns mustered a weak smile. "You do?"

"Sure! And you're just _such _a _man_ . . ." She let her voice trail off as she brought her fingers up to trace his pale face. Her hand slid right through his skin and she was immediately engulfed by the sensation of just having been doused in a bucket of cold water, but it was welcome. Binns recoiled as though physically struck; he was staring at Lily like he had never seen anything quite like her.

"Miss Evans, are you perfectly sure that you're not ill?" _Ah, _thought Lily, _he's concerned for me!_

"Yeah, Lils," said Sirius, chortling, "you're looking a bit peaky."

James's gaze drifted slowly, calculatingly, between Sirius and Lily. Was it really such a bad thing for a bloke to feel like decking his best mate?

"Professor Binns, sir," said James, "I think I know what's wrong with Evans." He glared at Sirius, then kicked aside his chair and joined the group at the front of the room. James extracted a vial of a swirling purple liquid from the pocket of his robes. "_Someone _must've slipped her a love potion. This is the antidote, I believe."

Lily eyed him curiously. Love potion? _No, _she thought, _this could not be the work of a potion. It was far too . . . convincing a feeling. _

Professor Binns took the phial from James and examined it before nodding his head. "I'd would really rather prefer her being taken to the hospital wing for the antidote to be administered," said Binns's droning voice. "Potter, you may take her."

James nodded and grasped Lily's wrist, but she pulled away from his touch.

"I am NOT under the influence of a love potion!" she shouted in denial. "I'm not! _I love him_!"

"I'm sure you do," said James placatingly, "but Binns thinks you look sick and he wants you to see the nurse because he's truly worried about you. Isn't he just a hopeless romantic?" James inwardly flinched at the sappiness of his words, but if it would get Lily away from Binns long enough for him to force the potion down her throat, he would do it.

Lily's eyes lit up and she turned to the ghost with an adoring expression. "Do you really?" Behind her, James nodded his head. Luckily, Binns caught on and mimicked this action. Lily did not seem to recognize the signs of blatant confusion.

"Well, I guess I'll do it, then," sighed Lily. "I'll see you when I come back!"

James again took her hand and led her from the room. Once outside, he pushed her against the wall, his hazel eyes delving into her green ones with real, suppressed emotion.

"Potter, let me go. We have to see the nurse, so I can come back to Professor Binns as soon as possible!"

He looked hard at her for a long moment. "I'm sorry, Evans," he stated apologetically. Lily's eyes widened as she realized what he was about to do, and began struggling against his grip, but it was firm and unrelenting. The potion tasted bitter and vile going down her throat, and slowly the confusion overtook her and she fell, helpless, into the awaiting darkness.

--

Lily stirred. Peeking her eyes open reluctantly, she recognized the crackling fire in the hearth and the soft warmth of the couch cushions. She snuggled into the furniture and tried to remember why she was back in the common room, when suddenly it came to her in a tidal wave of memory. The redhead shot up, her heart beating wildly. The familiar face of a black-haired, bespectacled boy stared back at her from his place in the armchair beside the fire.

"Are you alright, then?" he asked uncertainly, eyeing her apprehensively.

Lily lifted a pale hand and examined it, searching for some sign of physical harm. She found none other than the unusual lack of coloring, almost as if her skin had been drained off all pigment.

"What – what happened?" said Lily shakily. "I just remember a ghost . . . I-I think it might have been Professor Binns . . . And then you, you were pushing me against the wall . . ." Her voice trailed off as her unforgettable emerald eyes widened. In a firmer voice, she demanded, "Potter, what happened to me?"

James was kneeling beside the couch in an instant, having moved with lithe agility from the chair. He took her small hand in his, stroking it gently.

"Evans," said James softly, "I think we have a lot to talk about. And I promise you, I'll tell you the whole story . . . On one condition."

"And that is?"

"If I tell you," started James, "you also have to promise that you won't hit me."

Lily narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Why would I hit you?"

James sighed. "Look, Evans, having personally sampled your temper on more than one occasion, I am as keen as the next bloke to avoid another confrontation of that sort. You'll probably be more than angry after you hear this – and rightfully so – but I would rather not be on the receiving end."

"Did you do anything I should hate your for?"

"Not that I know of, but you'll probably find a way to twist it to appear that way," said James grimly. "Here, we'll make a compromise: Don't use me as a human punching bag, and I'll explain everything to you."

"Alright. I won't hurt you unless you absolutely deserve it." She swung her legs around into a sitting position, allowing James room beside her, which he accepted gratefully.

"Okay, then. I should probably start from the beginning." James let out a long breath and leaned back. "It all started in our third year. Sirius came up with this – well, it really is brilliant – idea of creating our own love potion. Purely for pranking purposes, of course," he added hastily upon seeing Lily's expression. "The thing is, he figured it would be funnier if we created our own version, because then no one could reverse the effects aside from us. With a little help from Remus, we had it finished in barely three weeks. We've used it ever since for jokes and stupid stuff like that."

Lily stared at him. "Potter," she began reproachfully, "do you know how dangerous it is to mess around with your own potions concoctions? More than a few people have died due to accidents because of that!"

"Oh, are you concerned for my well-being? C'mon Evans, it was fine. We had _Moony _working on it, after all, and he's almost as bad as you – he never does anything wrong!"

"But —" James shot her a look. "Oh, fine. But still, what does any of this have to do with me?"

James mumbled something incoherent under his breath.

"Sorry, didn't catch that?"

"I said, I think Sirius might've slipped a bit of it into your pumpkin juice this morning," said James in a clearer tone. "Did you detect a certain craving for a particular food or . . . drink?"

Lily nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I did. Are you telling me that Sirius _slipped me a love potion _—"

"I'm thinking along those lines, yeah," sighed James. "Most likely, it's his form of revenge on you – y'know, after the whole hair thing? He can get horribly defensive about his hair, you wouldn't even want to hear the rants he's gone on about my mum after she tried to cut it that one summer . . ."

"Potter, you're babbling," Lily reminded him. "What did the potion make me do? And why do I keep seeing Professor Binn's face?" She shuddered, repulsed.

James looked pityingly at her, his hazel eyes betraying sympathy. "Um, they sort of – er – made you start to fancy . . . um . . ."

"Oh, Potter, just spit it out already! It wasn't anyone —"

"Binns," interrupted James.

"_Professor _Binns?" The raven-haired boy nodded gravely. "PROFESSOR BINNS! You're — ooohhh, Sirius is going to _die_!" She glared at James. "You know what this means, right?"

"No . . . what?"

"War," growled Lily, her imagination already running wild with the possibilities. "And guess who's going to help me?"

James looked around cautiously. "Not me."

"Yes, you," persisted Lily. "Oh, come on, Potter! This will be fun! Imagine getting back at him for all the humiliation he's caused you over the years. Isn't it just a beautiful thought?"

"I am not going to help you," said James again, avoiding her eyes. "I can't go against Sirius, that would be a breach of marauder code."

Lily pulled her famous puppy-dog face, guaranteed to earn her a second glance from professors and classmates alike. Its effect was not lost on James. He tore his gaze away from her face, only to have his eyes wander back, unbidden. She could tell he was struggling, and tried to hide a satisfied grin.

"Fine," conceded James at length with a heavy sigh. "I'll devise the pranks, but you've got to carry them out. You'll probably have to add a bit of your own creativity so Sirius doesn't become too suspicious; one problem of having been mates forever is that I know his style and he knows mine. He'd be able to tell if it was me."

Lily beamed at him appraisingly. "Wonderful! And don't worry – I can be very _creative _when it comes to revenge."

"Why do you need my help, then?"

"Because you know what'll hurt him most," said Lily, "besides his hair, of course. Really, my asking you for help is a sign of respect toward your, er, abilities."

"Abilities?"

"Aren't you one of the famous marauders, master pranksters at Hogwarts?"

James grinned to himself and the pair began brainstorming jocularly on the subject of Lily's retaliation.

--

Lily laughed loudly at one of James's suggestions for a prank, her eyes flitting almost unconsciously at the clock on the wall behind his head. When she registered the time, Lily almost jumped out of her skin.

"Potter," she cried, clutching at his arm, "it's five to nine!" _We've been talking for this long?_

"Five to nine what?"

"Nine o'clock!" said Lily. "Remember, that letter your dad sent? He'll be showing up in five minutes."

James swivelled around the glimpse the time for himself. "Blimey, you're right," he said cooly. "Guess we got a bit carried away with the conversation, eh? Well, at least we've made some headway in planning the next, uh, battle against Sirius."

Lily smirked at him, thinking of their diabolical scheme.

"What do you think your dad wants to talk about?" asked Lily. "I mean, it's obvious that he wants to discuss the Death Eater, but what new information do you think they've found out?"

James shrugged. "I reckon they've either captured him or they've discovered him to be a part of some big ugly plot to undermine the whole wizarding world. That's what always happens, really."

"Really?"

"Well," James grinned, "mostly."

Lily bit her lip to stop the smile from forming and punched him lightly on the arm to show her annoyance.

"That hurt!"

Lily rolled her eyes playfully. "You're such a wimp," she scoffed in mock disdain. "All those extra nights of Quidditch practice and you still step off the field as weak and – and _wimpy_ as you were when you first went on."

"First," James began, "you really need to find a new word. You've used 'wimpy' way too much. Second, I'm not weak."

"Are so."

"Am not."

Lily grinned mischievously. "Prove it."

James sharply lifted his head, his twinkling hazel eyes staring into her one in a way that unnerved her as easily as anything. She hated the feeling she got when he did that . . . It was almost like he could see directly into her soul, peer at her innermost thoughts. That kind of vulnerability scared her, yet it was almost always accompanied by a thrill and a rush of adrenaline. She shook her head. Emotions were too weird to try and decipher.

"You really don't want me to prove it," he whispered, his voice oddly low and rough. "Because, you know, I can be strong on so many levels . . ." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively, and Lily recoiled, laughing.

"That's disgusting! That's _wrong _on so many levels. Besides, it's your own fault I called you a wimp in the first place, because you had to comment on me hitting you."

"You're a meanie," James pouted.

"I never claimed I was nice."

"Oh, clever," said James in monotone; a second later, the joking seriousness had retreated, replaced by a dangerous grin. "Are you ticklish, too?"

Lily's eyes widened and she leapt from the sofa. "No," she said, a bit too quickly, hoping he had not caught her. It was not to be so.

"I think that 'no' translates into a 'yes', hmm?" James jumped up after her and, with a girlish squeal, Lily took off running. He caught up with her in an instant, his long legs quickly overtaking her own.

"No! Potter, NO!" she yelled frantically, trying her best to dodge his attempts at tickling her. "You can't . . . No, don't — AHHH!"

James had finally managed to reach her arm. He spun her around and began tickling her mercilessly; Lily twisted and squirmed beneath the barrage of attacks, unable to stop her laughter. _Whoever told him about me and the whole tickling thing is going to die,_ thought Lily.

"Potter . . . you can't . . ." gasped Lily helplessly, more giggles escaping no matter how determined she remained to keep them in. James obliged abruptly, letting his hands fall to her shoulders. His laughing eyes danced with merriment and his face was creased in a permanent smile. As Lily stared at him, her breath hitched and she become unable to look away.

Their faces were moving closer . . . Lily could feel his breath warm on her own face, and an immediate, thrilling sensation seared through her body. His hand was caressing her cheek now, and she savored the warmth of his skin, drawing comfort from his presence and absorbing it for herself. Why hadn't she ever done this before? This was amazing, this was wonderful!

A sudden commotion from the fireplace brought reality crashing down on Lily like a ton of bricks. She ducked out of James's reach with a gasp, staring at him with wide eyes. For his part, James looked shell-shocked. He glanced quickly at Lily before turning to the tall, bespectacled man standing on the hearthrug, wiping dust and ash off his robes.

"Hello, dad," said James quietly. "Come on and sit down, it looks like we have a lot to talk about."

**A.N. **– So, how was it? I want your opinions on Sirius's prank — I'm really horrible at writing humorous pieces and I was struggling on this one. If you think it sucked, tell me. If you liked it, tell me that also.

And now to my reviewers. I love you guys so much! I was so surprised at the response I got for the last chapter, especially because the last few haven't been my favorites. Anyway.

**Super Smexy Snuffles: **OMG, you are SO wonderful!! Thanks for the ideas on the pranks, I used one in this chapter. I loved the thing about the Giant Squid; it was genius! And also, thanks for the information on the Historical Hall of Excellence and Importance, I'll definitely find a way to incorporate that later in the story. ;) Where did you find out about that, by the way? I don't remember reading about it. I think I might've just skipped that part of the book, though. ;) Luv you!

**An angel on ice: **You weren't really looking forward to the Quidditch trials, were you, because I did try to put them in. It just didn't fit! I'm SO sorry! And don't worry – about James's girlfriend, I'll get rid of her when the time comes (maniacally grins)

**Marauders rox: **I totally agree! Unfortunately, I don't think Lily would, so I can't put it in — yet. ;) Thanks for reviewing!

**AzNpRinCeSsWaRrioR: **Did I spell your penname right? Sorry if I didn't! Anyway, James is NOT going to like Lily's boyfriend, don't worry. I'm glad you liked it! Thanks for reviewing!

**Blueholly: **I know, I'd hate to be Lily too. Well, maybe not . . . James IS pretty hot . . . Anyway, I'm glad you liked it! I honestly didn't like that scene, but I'm glad someone did! Thank you for reviewing!

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR REVIEWING! I LOVE YOU ALL!

Coming up next:

What happened to the Death Eater?


	15. Chapter 15

**A.N. **—Okay, so I had this out earlier than I thought I would. I'm sorry if their conversation with Mr. Potter seems a bit rushed, but I would love some feedback. This chapter kinda skips around a little bit from one topic to the next, and all three will be expanded on later (I believe). Well, hope you like!!

TO MY REVIEWERS : YOU ROCK! I was amazed at the response I got for the last chapter, and I'd like you all to know I really appreciate it!!!! I'm addicted to reviews now, I swear it!

Oh, and I would like to mention that the idea for the prank in the last chapter came from **Super Smexy Snuffles**!! Sorry I didn't make that known last chapter, but that whole Professor Binns thing morphed out of one of her fantastic ideas. THANKS!

**Chapter Fifteen**

James, Lily reflected, was almost an exact mirror image of his father. Mr. Potter, though his face was lined with age and worry, still emitted that mischievous charm for which James was so famous. Both had disheveled black hair that stood up in every imaginable direction in the back, and both wore round-rimmed glasses.

Mr. Potter finished dusting his robes and glanced upward, his brown eyes flickering between the two teenagers. His sly grin broadened as he made his way toward Lily and offered her his hand.

"Hello," said Mr. Potter cheerfully as the two shook hands. "You _must _be Lily Evans. James has told me all about you. I do hope I'm not interrupting anything."

Lily fought the blush and smiled half-heartedly, pointedly avoiding James's eyes. In truth, she was not sure what had just transpired, but she did know it had left her breathless and – dare she say it – longing for more. She could see James's face in her mind's eye, coming closer to her own, his bright hazel eyes full of puzzling emotion and his lips . . .

_Wait! _The reasonable part of Lily's brain screamed. _This is **Potter**! Not some adorable Ravenclaw – POTTER! You're not allowed to think about him like that._

A lighthearted giggle answered, _But I can't help it. He's just so . . . hot . . ._

_WHAT!? What happened to me, thinking he's hot!_

_Well, he is, you have to admit —_

_I have to admit nothing – hang on. Am I talking to myself?_ Lily shook her head to clear it of such frivolous thoughts and turned her attention back to the issue at hand.

Mr. Potter had taken a seat on the sofa, James at his side. Father and son were whispering in hushed tones to each other, but stopped immediately upon realizing Lily's company.

"So," said Lily tentatively, "what's the matter? Your letter sounded pretty urgent."

Mr. Potter dropped his aged face, lined with worry, in his hands. Only when he looked back up did he reply, "It was urgent. _Very _urgent. That's why I decided to Floo over here tonight instead of talking to you through the Floo Network, because the Floo is being monitored. It was a risk simply coming here tonight, but Hogwarts has many guests traveling via Floo, so Albus thought my visiting wouldn't be too suspicious."

"Being monitored by who?"

"You've heard of Death Eaters, haven't you?"

Lily nodded, recalling with a repressed shudder her conversation with Alice on the Hogwarts Express. "I'd be surprised if someone hadn't heard of them, they've been all over the _Prophet _lately."

"Yes," said Mr. Potter, "but there are those who would prefer not to read that particular paper, and those who simply have no powers of perception. You may have noticed the peculiar absence of the actual term 'Death Eater' in the _Prophet_, yes?"

"I had, actually," responded Lily, "but they left enough hints that anyone should have been able to pick up on it. Besides, I think I've heard more through the word of mouth than in the news."

"Well, strictly, I'm not supposed to be telling you this, but I suppose it doesn't matter much anymore." Mr. Potter glanced suspiciously in the direction of the door, before drawing his wand and issuing a Silencing Charm. "The truth is, the Minister of Magic has been pressing the _Prophet _not to print the name. It's a rather stupid, though logical, excuse, really – he doesn't want to incite fear. He figured the sight of the words 'Death Eater' would be enough to scare anyone."

"That makes sense," said James. "He doesn't want to start a panic."

"There's already a panic, though you're right. I don't disagree, nor do I agree. Albus Dumbledore has some particularly interesting opinions on this subject, but I'll give you the summary. He believes that cutting out the name, then it will only be worse when the truth comes out wholly."

"How does he figure?"

"Well, one of his favorite sayings is, 'fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself.' He thinks that by keeping the names out, it will reveal to an already unsettled public that even the authorities are frightened or feeling threatened by this new group of people."

Lily considered it. "That's reasonable, too. But honestly, I doubt whether the public won't be afraid even if they did print the name."

"True," acknowledged Mr. Potter, "which is why I neither agree nor disagree. Come now, we have wasted far too much time on this explanation."

"Sir," said Lily, "you said the Death Eaters were tracking the Floo Network. What would they serve to gain from that? Yes, they would know whose relatives were visiting who and where Ministry officials were going — I think I've just answered my own question."

Mr. Potter smiled. "Yes, I'm afraid you have. They would know whose relatives were visiting who and when it would be most potent to attack their targets. And I'm sure you can discern the importance of knowing where Ministry officials were going."

"Can't the Ministry do that too, though? I mean, can't the Ministry track the Floo Network? Wouldn't they be able to tell if the Death Eaters are using the Floo Network, and then see where they were all going and send Aurors out to that location?"

"They can," said Mr. Potter slowly, frowning. "And they would, except it is quite easy to confuse identities when tracking the Floo, because you're being dematerialized and then put back together on the other side. The Death Eaters only look at the number of people traveling to a specific area, and if the number is high enough, they strike. The Ministry of Magic couldn't do that with Death Eaters, as they would risk attacking someone's dinner or a family get-together. It wouldn't be worth the risk, so the Minister has outlawed the practice."

"You can't honestly tell me that there aren't people in the Ministry with the talent and knowledge to figure out a solution to that problem? Think of how many lives could be saved!"

"Many have pleaded that case to the Minister, but he refuses to listen. I'm afraid he is quite adamant when he has made up his mind."

James snorted and muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like, "Prat."

"James!" exclaimed Mr. Potter.

"What? He's a prat! He's got no right to his office, and he's got no idea what he's doing. He's going to get everyone killed because he's so blind to our problems."

"James, he —"

"Does he even know about the Order?" James continued, heedless of his father's rambling. "Has he even heard the latest news from the Auror Department? Could he name the three latest convictions? Was he present at the trials? No!"

"Have _you _heard the latest news from the Auror Department?" Mr. Potter countered, looking furious. "Can _you _name the three last convictions? Were _you _present at the trials?"

James glared at his father. "Yeah, I have. The Aurors, when I last checked this morning, have figured out where they think the Death Eaters might be hiding and they have a date all settled to attack. The last three convictions: Ignatius Prewett, Melania McMillian, and Lycoris Black. I wasn't present at the trials, but I have recordings of each one in my room and I've gone over each at least two times, looking for a little anything that'll help us."

Lily stared at James; Mr. Potter looked reasonably impressed.

"You'll make a fine Auror someday, son," said Mr. Potter proudly, patting a sheepish though still defiant James on the back. "Still, that doesn't make it right for you to criticize the Minister's actions."

"Mr. Potter, um, why are you here? Not that I don't like having you here, but in your letter you made it sound like this had something to do with what happened to me earlier this summer."

"Ah, and now we reach the real point," Mr. Potter sighed heavily. "My wife told me all about the letter she wrote you on the subject, James, which I'm sure you shared with Lily." At his son's nod, he continued. "She probably included more information than she should have, were the letter to be intercepted by the wrong people, but luckily she did have the good sense to charm the envelope so it could not be opened by anyone but you, James, without bursting into flame. What exactly did she tell you?"

Lily spoke up in light of James's apparent silence. "Only that the handwriting analysis revealed a match, to a man who had escaped custody the night he was to be shipped to Azkaban on charges of . . . murder and consorting with Death Eaters, I believe. She also mentioned having some hints as to his locations, and that Aurors Moody and Kingsley were hunting him down."

"That sounds about right."

"Have you found them yet, dad?"

"Moody and Kingsley have been looking for an entire month," said Mr. Potter, "and only last week did they manage to apprehend the criminal. His name is Robert Tross, and you're quite right, he was _supposed _to be sent to Azkaban for associating with Death Eaters and murdering his wife and brother-in-law with an illegal curse. He got away from the Aurors guarding him and he's been on the run since."

"We fixed Tross with some Veritaserum, and he told us all about your letter, Lily. Apparently, there's going to be an attack on the Ministry of Magic in one months' time. We've doubled the security around the whole place."

"Why did_ I _get the letter, though? It wasn't addressed to or intended for me."

"He said the owl must've gone astray and dropped it in the wrong home," said Mr. Potter.

"That's impossible! No, no, you're missing something."

"What d'you mean?" asked James, a bemused frown plastered on his face.

"Haven't you ever read — no, never mind," Lily shook her head. "Anyway, in _The Different Species of Owl_ by Alfred Wayler, he explains the mail-carrying duties of an owl. First of all, they feel true loyalty only to their real owners, but will accept anyone their owners consider friends. Second, whenever they are saddled with the task of delivering a letter, they will deliver it only to the intended recipient. That's why owls whose letters have been intercepted usually come out of it looking as if they've just gone through a cheese grater, because they'll fight to protect what is rightfully their master's."

"So why did that owl leave it with you, without a fight?"

"I don't know," said Lily, "which is why I think you're missing something."

Mr. Potter rose from his seat and thanked the Head students for their insight.

"There is more, that you should probably know," said Mr. Potter, "but we're going to wait until it's all settled before we get into it. When we do, I promise I'll be back with the update."

"Bye, dad."

"Good-night, Mr. Potter."

With one last wave, Mr. Potter disappeared into the flames.

--

"Okay, you've got the broom in the air on your own. Now you've just got to get _on _it."

Lily eyed the wooden handle of one of the extra school brooms apprehensively and slowly brought her fingers up to run the length of the splintery wooden surface.

"Won't I get a splinter or something?" asked Lily.

James, who was obviously suppressing laughter, shook his head and pulled his wand. With one word and a jet of red light, the broom handle instantly smoothed out and shone as though new. Lily glared at James's show of ingenuity.

"Okay, genius, care to explain _how _I'm going to get on it?"

James nodded. "Just lift one leg up and swing it over until you're in a sitting position," he explained, demonstrating with his highly-coveted Rocket920. Lily tried to copy his actions, but slipped mid-motion and found herself sitting on the ground with a stinging bum.

"Ouch."

"Are you alright?" asked James concernedly, hazel eyes shining not with worry, but with amusement. _Prat, _thought a disgruntled Lily as she righted herself and assured him coldly that she was fine.

"Try again."

Finally, on her third try, Lily managed to successfully mount herself on the school broom. Wobbly at first, she slowly accustomed herself to the odd feel of the broomstick. She wrapped her fingers around the wood and looked over to James, beaming in wonderment.

James smiled encouragingly back. "Alright," he said. "Now try to take it to the air."

"How?"

"Well, you just sort of pull up on — There you go! You're doing it!"

Lily laughed, fascinated, as she soared higher and higher into the clear blue sky. The wind rushed through her long red hair, which had come loose from its ponytail. It was a refreshing change from the comfortable stuffiness of the library.

She heard loud chuckling and glanced to the side to see James flying closely beside her. His hair was flying wildly, long black robes whipping in the air behind him. But it was the expression on his face that hit Lily hardest; she could describe it only as pure, unadulterated joy. She had never seen him so happy about anything, not that she ever noticed anyway . . .

"So?" he shouted over the wind. "How is it, Evans?"

Lily laughed. "Wonderful! A bit shaky, but that's all passed."

James landed on the Pitch, and Lily hastened to follow his example. Dismounting, she smiled delightedly at his windswept appearance.

"That was the most amazing thing I've ever felt in my entire life!" gushed Lily, causing James to grin.

"Isn't it great? But," his tone grew more serious, almost professorial, "there is still a lot left for you to learn. Now, I don't pretend to know it all, but I do know quite a lot." He smirked as Lily punched him lightly on the shoulder. "Well, it's true!"

"Arrogant," Lily muttered playfully.

James pulled a face. "Hey, I heard that!"

Lily hoisted her best, innocent facade. "Heard what?"

"You called me arrogant!"

"Oh, did I?" Lily pretended to be deep in thought for a minute. "Hmm. Maybe I did, but I can't really remember."

James rolled his eyes. "You only said it two minutes ago."

"Short-term memory loss."

"Really."

"Really, really."

"Really?"

"Hmm?" asked Lily, hiding a smile. "Really what?"

James narrowed his eyes. "Oh, stuff it, Evans."

"Excuse me?! What did you just say?"

"Hmm?" asked James in a mockingly high-pitched, feminine voice. "I can't remember. Short-term memory loss."

"_You _—"

The Quidditch Pitch rang with their mingled laughter as a certain raven-haired teenager took off, chased closely by a petite redhead with a wand and, as the boy soon found out, a particular aptitude for Charms.

--

_BRRIINNNGGGG!_

Lily groaned and rolled over, sleepily groping for the alarm clock. She punched the offensive object, which still continued blaring, hugged the pillow around her ears and gave a wordless scream. _WHY?! Why can't the bloody thing just leave me alone for five seconds?_

"Evans?" came James's voice, muffled due to the door. "Are you ready yet?"

"Ready for what?" mumbled Lily thickly.

"Quidditch tryouts. You told me you wanted to —"

Lily heard no more. Almost as if lit on fire, she leapt from bed and quickly changed into her good winter clothes, for the chill was almost unbearable as of late. Tucking her long red hair back, she pulled her emerald green hood over her head and left her dormitory. James was waiting, dressed in his Gryffindor Team Quidditch robes.

"You look nice," he said conversationally as the two made their way to the Quidditch Pitch.

Lily blushed and pulled the hood closer around her face to hide it from her fellow Hogwarts students, who hadn't yet wasted an opportunity to tease her for her "infatuation" with Professor Binns.

"Thanks," she whispered.

"Why are you hiding? If you're worried about the teasing, don't – I've told them all they'll get detention if they so much as look at you in a mocking sort of way."

"Suppose you'll have to give yourself detention then." But she couldn't help smiling at his consideration. "Thank you."

"Not a problem. I did it partially for my benefit, too; I'm definitely going to enjoy handing out detentions to every Slytherin stupid enough to tease you."

Lily mumbled morosely, "You're going to have the entire Slytherin house in detention, then."

"Who cares? The slimy gits deserve it."

"You know," started Lily, "maybe you're mistaken about them. I'll admit that many of them have earned their reputations as biased blockheads, but other than that some _are _rather nice."

"Are you feeling okay, Evans?"

Lily looked sideways at him. "Yes, I'm fine. Truthfully, Potter, haven't you ever met a nice Slytherin?"

James stared at her indignantly. "Uh, let's think – NO!"

_We'll talk about this later, _thought Lily, determined to protest, despite having recognized his case as a lost cause. Not wanting to engender an argument, she changed topic. "So, how do you think Quidditch practice will go today?"

"I'm hoping it'll go well," said James, looking more than a little relieved at her change of subject. "We only need another Chaser, a Seeker, and a Keeper for all our positions to be filled. I don't think we're going to replace Matthews as a Chaser, but we should be able to find someone relatively good. I checked the sign-ups, and it looks like the whole of the Gryffindor House is going to be there. Probably just coming to see me," he added arrogantly, though with a grin.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I'm sure that's why they're all coming," she commented dryly in a voice dripped of sarcasm. "Hey. I know Lina's trying out, won't that fill the Chaser place?"

"I've already counted her in," said James. "If she doesn't fly around today, then we're going to be needing two Chasers. I'm not worried about her, though. This is where she shines."

"Well, keep this in mind while you're watching the trials, Potter: If you don't put her on the squad, I'm going to hex you into next week – _literally_."

James raised his hands in mock surrender. "Okay, okay! Geesh, what'll Lina say when I tell her the only reason I let her on the team was because her best friend threatened me? That will definitely boost her confidence."

"Shut up."

"Can't," answered James happily. "It's Quidditch!"

Lily inwardly groaned and cast a glance at the sky, silently asking what she had done to deserve this.

After what seemed like another mile of walking, they entered the Quidditch Pitch. James departed toward the locker rooms to change for the upcoming events while Lily headed toward the currently deserted stands. She found a good seat and cast a Heating Charm on her surroundings, enveloping herself in a bubble of warmth. Sighing, Lily took her library book from her pocket and maximized it to its regular size, having shrunk it down to a manageable size and tucked it away in her cloak the day before.

She leaned back against the bleacher behind her and began to read.

_Protective Charms, Chapter Nine: Blood Sacrifice_

_The majority of the prominent scholars in the Wizarding World agree to one thing: Blood is most likely the best version of protection that one can bestow upon another. The lingering effect of the blood sacrifice will provide lasting safeguards against any evil spirit or wrongdoer, depending of course on the conditions the sacrifice was given and with villainous power in mind. _

_To perform a blood sacrifice, the giver must first . . ._

The loud, obnoxious sound announced the arrival of the first participants, successfully snapping Lily from her state of complete oblivion. She frowned for a moment and dog-eared the page for later reference, shrinking it back down to the size of her palm and stashing it away in her hood.

"Do you mind if I sit here?"

Lily turned at the sickly sweet voice. A girl with long blonde tresses and a Ravenclaw symbol embroidered on her Hogwarts robes was waiting for an answer next to Lily. Standing at a fashionable height, she was very pretty.

"Sure," said Lily politely, offering her room. Though she would have rather been alone, it would have seemed rude to refuse. "I'm Lily Evans. Gryffindor. You?"

"Norah Hammond," came the light reply. "I'm a Ravenclaw, but I have . . . _special permission _to attend the tryouts."

Norah Hammond. The name froze in Lily's head and remained there like an unwanted, irritating fly just waiting to be swatted, its guts mashed unbecomingly into the wall. James's girlfriend.

Lily forced a smile. "Well, I hope you like what you've seen so far of Gryffindor."

"Oh yes," said Norah with a loud giggle, her eyes seeking James out in the crowd on the Pitch. She eyed his tall figure rather hungrily. "I'm very sure I've enjoyed what I've seen so far."

Lily tried not to make her grimace too obvious. _Ewww! 'I'm very sure I'm enjoyed what I've seen so far.' YUCK!_

"So, you said your name was Lily Evans?" said Norah. "Aren't you the head girl?"

Lily nodded. "I am." Was it just her imagination, or had Norah's porcelain features hardened ever so slightly?

Another giggle. This one, unlike its counterparts, completely lacked the humor and had a warning edge. "Oh! James has – told me so much about you."

"He has?" asked Lily with a dubious raise of her eyebrows. "Funny, that doesn't sound like him."

"Oh no, he talks about you_ all the time_. You two share a dormitory, don't you?"

Lily flushed. "Uh, no, we share a common room. We have separate dormitories."

"Oh." The two girls settled into an awkward silence.

Determined to stop the nervous fidgeting, Lily said the first thing that came to mind. "So, what is it like, being a Ravenclaw?"

"Nothing special," was Norah's nonchalant – almost disdainful – response. "I hate it, actually. Everyone expects you to be brilliant, you know, even though I've found from experience that half the Hufflepuffs are more knowledgeable than most of the Ravenclaws I know."

Lily only barely refrained from saying, "Such as yourself?" Instead, she bit her tongue and nodded.

"So, you've been dating Potter for how long now?"

"Three weeks. He's really adorable, and he has a great personality. He's too good for those blonde bimbos I've seen him with before." A sly grin wound its way onto Norah's face, and for an instant the girl's countenance had completely morphed into that of someone else's. "He's too good for anyone – but me."

Lily's eyes widened._ And just who does she think she is?_

"Don't worry, though." Norah rose from her seat and brushed non-existent dust from her robes. "I have him wrapped around my finger. He wouldn't dare go after anyone else while he has me."

With that, the Ravenclaw stalked off. Lily didn't save her the trouble of protesting this statement, as she wasn't too keen to tell James's girlfriend that he had tried hitting on her numerous times since he and Norah had gotten together. Somehow, though, the idea of making that twit jealous was a bit more appealing now.

--

James was frustrated.

Tryouts for the needed Chaser had started close to an hour ago and now, with half the participants having been kicked off the Pitch for having little to absolutely no experience on a broom, he still hadn't found the kid he was looking for.

"Okay, it's your group's turn," said James, indicating a group of fourth years. "Up in the air."

Four left the ground immediately, but one remained, feet firmly planted in the grass. He was thin and wiry, the perfect build for a Chaser – if he would ever mount the broom. James repeated his instructions, only to be ignored once again.

"Kid, if you're not going to follow my orders than you'll never make the team," said James.

The boy turned to him with a relaxed expression. "I'm not flying with those prats," came the arrogant reply. "It would only degrade my skills and make me seem to be on the same level as they are, which is far from true. I could outfly them with my eyes closed."

James considered him. The boy's manner reminded him vaguely of his own: Proud, boastful, and haughty. _Well, _he thought, _I guess I can give him a chance. _

Within three minutes, the other fourth years had fallen out of the sky. Only when all three had landed did the boy mount his broom with casual ease, apparently oblivious to James's careful scrutiny of his actions. The boy took to the air, overcoming every obstacle James's team had set up without the slightest effort.

He was a natural.

And, just what James needed for Chaser.

When the boy was back on the ground, James made toward him with a huge smile.

"Good job, kid," said James. "What's your name, by the way? I'm pretty sure it isn't 'kid.'"

The boy grinned. "No, it's not, though my mum was thinking about naming me 'boy' before my dad stepped in. I'm Daniel Williams, fourth year, Gryffindor. Call me Dan."

"Well, Dan, I can't say officially until I've watched all the trials, but I'd say you're pretty much a shoe-in for the position."

"Great! Thanks a lot!"

Beaming, Daniel moved over to the sidelines. Ecstatic over this new discovery, James's eyes searched the stands to find the one person he knew could make him happier. When he did find her, he noticed another person present.

Oh no. It was her.

The two of them, together. That couldn't be a good thing.

As if sensing his eyes on them, Lily glanced up and smiled with a little wave. Norah followed her gaze and waved, too, more energetically.

This was going to be trouble.

**A.N. **— Yeah, I know, nothing special. And yeah, I was trying to make Norah seem like a bit of a – well, you know – to start with, but her true colors will really come out later when she starts to recognize Lily as competition. ;)

Okay, I have a few questions about grammar. If anyone can answer them, please do!

-I always get confused about this: Is the period or question mark inside the quotations?

Ex: She couldn't understand why he was so "annoying."

Vs.

Ex: She couldn't understand why he was so "annoying".

-When you have two characters both claiming ownership, do you use an apostrophe and s on both of their names?

Ex: Lily's and James's prank

Vs.

Ex: Lily and James's prank

Sorry for sounding ignorant here, but my English teacher wasn't a lot of help when I asked her so I thought I'd broach the subject here. If anyone else sees any mistakes with my grammar, feel free to point them out! ;)

_**Thanks forever to my reviewers! I love you all so much!!**_

**hermione-G-wanna-be**: You like it? blushes Thank you for reviewing!!!

**JJ – **lol, that is so much easier! There will be more conflicts, don't worry, and I think you'll like who I pick for Lily's boyfriend – don't worry, it isn't going to be Snape! I thought about that for a while myself, but I came to the obvious conclusion that it would be a bit TOO disgusting! Lol. What do you think about James's girlfriend so far? Thank you so much for reviewing!

**Super Smexy Snuffles**: Lol! I liked the giant squid one too, but I didn't want to copy your idea exactly as it was – though it probably would've been funnier! I'm glad you shared that with me, by the way, about the Hall of Excellence thing. ;) Anyway, what did you think of James's girlfriend? Bad enough? If not, don't worry – she's getting worse! Thanks for reviewing! (P.S. - Thanks for reviewing my other story, too! I'm not going to update that for a little while, just to warn you; I really need time to work on the plot.) ;)

**Blueholly: **-le gasp- that's cute! Anyway, James's plan will be pretty bad, don't worry. And I'd just like to mention that I didn't come up with that prank on my own, I had help from Super Smexy Snuffles – If I had come up with my own, it probably would have been EXTREMELY bad! grins You're welcome about me replying to your review – I assure you, it was nothing! Lol. Thanks for reviewing!!!

**Marauders rox: **Are you mad at me because James's dad wasn't angry? I hope not. Lol, I know about Lily and James – they should just snog and make up, huh? I think so. Thanks for reviewing!

**An angel on ice: **Thanks, I'm glad you liked it! And I do have an evil side maniacal grins Were the trials horrible? I'll add more about it later. Thanks so much for reviewing! ;)

**Coming Up Next:**

Lily's and James's prank

More of Norah Hammond :-)


	16. Chapter 16

**A.N. — **Hey! I didn't realize it had been this long since my last update, and I'm sorry for the delay. First of all, I was grounded from the computer for about a week. I couldn't write it out in a notebook or something because my writing tends to flow better when I'm typing. Then when I finally got back on, I typed up this really long chapter that I really liked, but I knew you lot wouldn't because it included a couple of really out-of-character Slytherins (among them Regulus Black. Come on, I'm not the ONLY one who thinks he isn't an inconsiderate, Death Eater jerk, am I? Or maybe I am. Hmm, one of the great mysteries of life . . .). So I started retyping it, and we had this huge snow storm before I could finish it. I mean, HUGE. We had 27.5 inches of snow in _one day_. It was AWESOME! For me, anyway. My parents didn't like it much. So then I had to delay the writing yet again because what teenager is going to miss the opportunity to jump off their roof into a pile of snow? Huh? Right.

So I just finished this up in the last hour or so, with quite a few disruptions all throughout that time. Hope you like it!

OKAY, I know I said I would include James and Lily's prank on Sirius in this chapter, but it didn't fit. SORRY! Please don't hate me!!!

Oh, and thanks a TON to everyone who reviewed!! And I'd really like to thank those people who gave me some tips on my grammar. Thanks!!!

Without further delay . . .

**Chapter Sixteen**

Chewing her bottom lip nervously, Lily clutched her Potions book tighter to her chest and paused a moment to gather her resolve before gently pushing open the door to the unused classroom. Though long since neglected, hints of its previous uses lingered. Lily ran her fingers smoothly over the surface of the bookshelf, creating little rivulets in the dust.

"_Pulvis genitus_," Lily muttered the handy housecleaning spell she had learned from Lina's mother. The dust instantly disappeared, leaving the entire space shining like new. She smiled down at the freshly-cleaned desks and said in a satisfied sort of voice, "Perfect."

"You know, they say talking to yourself is the first sign of insanity."

Lily jumped at the unfamiliar voice and whirled around, sighing in relief as she recognized the man as the infamous James Potter. His trademark feature – the disheveled, windswept black hair – had not disappointed her. She could tell he had just been out flying, and now that she had tried out the sport, she honestly couldn't blame him.

She smirked. "At least I won't be alone then, will I? I'll have you for company! Besides, it's not like you've never talked to yourself before."

James eyed her, his hazel eyes glittering with amusement. "I'm going to ignore that," he said, closing the door behind him. His gaze swept over the room, examining the renewed cleanliness. "Wow, you've done a good job on this. You wouldn't believe how disastrous it was when I was here last night."

Lily grimaced. "Do I want to know what you were doing here last night?"

"You're twisted," said James, shaking his head. "Nah, I was practicing for that test coming up in Charms class. I'm willing to bet my fingers that it'll be torture. Still, Charms is easier than Potions."

"Which is exactly why we're here," said Lily seriously, switching automatically into teacher mode. "Did you bring your book?"

James shot her a look. "Yes, actually," he said as he pulled the large black book into her line of sight. "Merlin, Evans, I'm not that daft." He pulled his bag over his shoulder and dumped it loudly on a nearby desk.

"Did you bring your cauldron?" asked Lily with raised eyebrows.

"Er . . . that one I might've forgotten," said James sheepishly, with a shy smile.

Lily rolled her eyes and pulled two magically-shrunk black cauldrons from the pocket of her robe; a second later, they had been returned to their original sizes. "I thought you might have. Lucky for you, I brought two."

"Now," said Lily in a mockingly professorial tone, "open your book to page nine-hundred-and-fourteen and, er, brew me up a batch of . . . uh . . . Euphoria Potion?"

James flipped through the pages. "Yep," he affirmed, nodding. He flashed her a smile and a roughish wink. "I'll get right on it."

Lily nodded in acknowledgment as he headed toward her "potion's cabinet," a collection of vials and ingredients that she had acquired from Professor Slughorn after the teacher heard of her tutoring sessions. She observed him for a minute before she noticed what she was doing and shook herself out of it. Slouching into a chair, she pulled the book she had been reading earlier at the Quidditch Trials from her bag and snapped it open expertly to the correct page.

_Protective Charms, Chapter Ten: Protection of Love_

_Love is one of the greatest mysteries of life. We know almost nothing about it, outside the fact that it is an emotion and a powerful one at that. Some Unspeakable witches and wizards in the Department of Mysteries in the Ministry of Magic in Britain have dedicated their lives to solving the mystery of love. Who knows? Maybe they are close to a breakthrough._

_Until then, however, we must make due with what little is known about this particular force. Love Sacrifices, very similar to Blood Sacrifices, leave a lingering protection in the blood of those for whom the sacrifice was made. Such sacrifices are rare, for they oftentimes require the death of the bestower. _

"Hey, teacher?" came James' voice, breaking Lily out of her zone. "Um, I think I might've done something wrong."

Lily's eyes snapped over to James' cauldron, where a noxious green gas was slowly but surely filling the room, emitting from his cauldron. She almost choked – _Damn, this smells horrible!_

She fumbled her grip on her wand and shouted the incantation between coughs, the funnel formed by her wand vacuuming up the smoke and replacing it with clean air. Lily crossed her arms over her chest and turned on her heel to face James.

"Sorry," the wizard mumbled feebly. "I think – I dunno, but I think I added the armadillo ears and the lizard tongues too quickly."

Lily winced. "Ooh, bad mistake. See, if you had added them too slowly, the room would have exploded. So, all in all, I think we're rather lucky."

She laughed outright at the look on his face.

"I would've blown up the room?" repeated James with a dazed expression. Lily nodded. "Oh. Bloody brilliant."

"It wouldn't have been _so _bad, really. McGonagall would have thrown a fit, but beyond that . . ."

"There is no 'beyond that.' Have you seen McGonagall when she's angry? God, she's scarier than the Bloody Baron." James gave a little shudder.

"You're scared of the Bloody Baron?"

James looked at her. "You would be too if you had seen the things I've seen while traipsing about the castle at night. He haunts the corridors with a bloody – literally bloody, I mean – axe, just waiting to chop all the little firsties who're out of bed at night. He hides behind the statues, just waiting."

Lily gasped. "He does not!"

"No," James grinned, "just trying to scare you. And look, it worked."

"I'm not laughing." She tried desperately to keep a straight face, but could not help the giggles that escaped her lips.

"Shut up," Lily warned before James could say anything. He merely smirked at her. "Hey, now, back to the work. That's the only reason I'm here."

The smirk unmoving, James obligingly returned to his work. Lily rolled her eyes good-naturedly, staring almost longingly out the window at the marvelous blue sky. _Perfect time for flying, _she thought, before she caught herself. _Bloody hell, I'm turning into Potter!_ She smirked.

--

"Party in the Head Girl's room!" shouted Lina happily, nearly dancing with joy. Lily, Alice, and Emma looked at each other, barely suppressing grins.

"Come on, Lin," said Alice, "you can't be _that _excited you made the team. You were a shoo-in – James even said so himself before the trials!"

Lina smiled dreamily. "I know," she sighed. "And since the trials weren't held until so bloody late in the year – Dumbledore was holding them back, you know? – we'll have to work extra hard in order to win our next games. But we've got a good, strong team."

"Wait a minute," interrupted Lily. "Why was Dumbledore holding the trials back?"

Lina shrugged. "Dunno, James wouldn't tell me when I asked him. I reckon it has something to do with, you know, all this _stuff _going on lately. Dumbledore's been really caught up in it, and I'm willing to bet that he had a good reason to delay them. Still, this cuts our chances at the Cup —"

There were definitely more interesting ways to spend an hour than listening to Lina go on and on about Gryffindor's chances at the Quidditch Cup, but Lily enjoyed it. What, with her Head Girl duties, studying for the N.E.W.T.S., flying lessons, and tutoring Regulus Black, her schedule was fairly full. She hardly got to see her friends anymore, and was grateful for the chance.

"So, for this party," said Lina as the girls rounded a corner. "I've brought some butterbeer and Emma brought —"

"Lin, we can't really have a party. I'll get in serious trouble. Head Girl's are supposed to be responsible and all, and having a party isn't exactly _responsible_."

Lina smirked. "Why, Lily, whatever are you talking about?" she exclaimed in a mockingly scandalized voice. "A party, pshhh! It's just a friendly meeting between us four friends, possibly with some beverages and snacks . . ."

Lily couldn't help but smile. "Well, I still don't know . . ."

"I'm bringing chocolate," said Emma quickly.

"When's the party?"

Lina grinned. "Knew you'd cave once chocolate was mentioned."

"Hey," said Lily defensively, "I'm a girl. Some girls go after boys, some go after shoes, some go after Prada bags. I go after books – I know I'm weird, but that's just me. But no matter how different we are, we're all connected by one thing: Chocolate. Deprive me of my chocolate and you deprive me of the only thing I have to live for. It would just be cruel and merciless, and I'd never forgive you —"

"Bit off topic here, Lils," Alice reminded her gently.

"Sorry," apologized Lily with a small grin. "You know chocolate gets me going."

"So, Alice, how does it feel to be Assistant Herbology teacher?"

Alice flushed. "Absolutely amazing! Oh, you wouldn't believe how great it feels to actually be at the head of the classroom, spending time doing what you love most and teaching others to love it too. There's only one downside."

"What is it?"

"Frank," said Alice gloomily. "He's in the N.E.W.T. level Herbology class. Still hasn't made up with me, and he won't even look at me half of the time. It's horrible. I mean, I don't think it would be too bad if we just reverted back to being friends like we use to, even if we're not together anymore."

"Wouldn't that be a bit awkward?"

"Well, yeah. Of course I'd still like him, a lot, but it would be better than not talking at all. I – this is going to sound stupid, but I _miss _talking to him. We used to sit, just sit, for hours on end and talk. We'd talk about us, our lives, our hopes and fears, our dreams . . . We used to t-talk about our future, too. Both of us thought we would grow old with each other, and we were seriously considering marriage."

"Oh my God," whispered Lily. "What happened?"

Alice's regretful brown eyes cut upwards and fixed on her friends' faces. "He told me he didn't love me anymore. Said he had found s-someone else, someone he liked better than me. Someone he _loved_, for real this time."

_How could he hurt her like that?_ Lily wondered. In the six years the two girls had been best friends, Lily could never remember seeing Alice so lost, helpless, fragile . . . vulnerable. No, Alice was always strong in her own unique way. Frank had really scarred her, emotionally, and it tore at Lily to see her in such a sad state.

"He's a git," said Lina, rubbing Alice's forearm soothingly. "Any guy who would give up on a girl like you has to be the biggest git the world has ever or will ever see."

Emma smiled reassuringly. "Yeah. Allie, he was a prat to give up on you. You're kind, warm, caring —"

"—loyal, beautiful, smart —" added Lily.

"—and all-around perfect. Alice, if you and Frank are meant to be, then he'll come to realize it in time. If not, there's certainly some other guy out there who would really love you. My mother always used to say that true love sneaks up on you in the most unexpected places, and being you, you won't have a hard time at all finding someone who will love you as much – or maybe more – than Frank did."

"Thanks, guys," said Alice, wiping the tears away roughly with the back of her sleeve. "You're great."

"We know," said Lina airily, flashing a grin. Lily cracked a smile, uncomfortably aware of the stares being directed at her.

"What are all those prats looking at?" asked Lina. "They're goggling like they've never seen a group of girls before – Hell, some of them _are _girls!"

"They're looking at me," said Lily miserably. "Remember that prank Sirius pulled with the love potion?"

"Oh . . ." Lina's eyes flashed angrily, and she drew her wand. Lily forced Lina's arms down at her side.

"It's okay, Lin," said Lily hastily. "They're idiots, they'll get over it. You can't curse someone in front of me, or I'm going to have to take off some points and I'd really rather not."

"But I wouldn't mind." James Potter joined them, eyeing the onlookers with distaste. He smiled suddenly and winked at Lily. "Watch. This is where what I was saying earlier comes into play."

The girls watched as he sauntered up to the various spectators, mouths hanging open agape as he handed out more detentions than Lily thought was probably legal.

"Potter!" exclaimed Lily when he rejoined them. "What was that all about? They were only looking at me!"

James looked at her. "And I warned them, didn't I? I told you I'd put them in detention for showing you any disrespect at all, and I made good on my promise."

Lily was touched, but fought not to let it show. "Speaking of that," she started, "we're having a 'party' to celebrate Lina getting on the team. If you wanted to come, we could talk about the next battle movement in the war against the Git."

"Tonight?"

"No, next week," replied Lily sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Of course it's tonight!"

James threw her a smile. "Geesh, calm down. It was an innocent question. I was only wondering because if it's tonight, I can't come. Sorry." He grinned devilishly, brushing the black fringe out of his eyes. "I'm meeting up with Norah tonight. Apparently, it's our three week anniversary and she thought we should – er – celebrate."

"Your three week anniversary? You count _weeks_?"

"Well, I don't," admitted James, "but Norah does. I'm glad she thought to remind me, otherwise I wouldn't have known and that would've definitely lead to some really sticky situations. You know, she's really amazing. I'd hate to lose her over something stupid like missing an anniversary."

Lily's heart dropped into her stomach, which itself was churning rather painfully. "Er, she's really amazing? Uh . . . how?"

_Stupid, stupid question!! You're an idiot! You don't want to know why he likes her!_

_Not that I care, _chirped up a portion of Lily's mind that had been dormant for quite some time. She ignored it.

An uncharacteristically soppy look domineered James' face and he spoke as though from a great distance away. "I don't really know what I like about her," he confessed. "I just, like her. A lot. She has a wonderful personality, and she's always helping others out whenever they need a hand. Norah's kind and caring and everything I've ever looked for in a girl."

"Is it love, do you think?" inquired Alice, most unhelpfully, as Lily's heart was almost ready to leap out of her throat as it was.

James jerked back to the present. "It might be," he eluded. "I'm not really sure. I've only felt this way about one other girl, and it . . . it didn't work out so well with her."

_Unrequited love,_ thought Lily._ Why am I so familiar with the feeling?_

"Well, anyway, see you all later." James winked, turned, and strolled away. The three other Gryffindor girls turned to Lily with questioning eyes, examining her carefully.

"What?" asked Lily, feeling self-conscious all of the sudden. They were, after all, looking at her like she had grown three heads.

"Well," started Emma uncomfortably, "he seems to really like this girl. I mean, _really _like her."

"Yeah? So?"

Lina snorted. "Come on, Lils, you can't just brush it off this casually. You _know _you like him. Come to think of it, the irony here is pretty cruel."

"What irony?"

"Who's Norah?" piped in Alice. "I've never heard that name around here before."

"Norah Hammond," said Lily miserably. She glanced up at a loud gasp to find Lina staring into her face incredulously.

"_Norah Hammond_? That Ravenclaw girl?" demanded Lina. "_That's _the sweet, innocent girl he was just talking about? No way."

"Yeah, that's her. Why?"

Lina stared at Lily. "You've never met her, have you? Well," she continued without waiting for an answer, "let me tell you something about Norah Hammond. She's a brutal, conniving. Evil. An absolute prick. She's too brilliant for her own good, and she definitely uses that to her advantage. Would've been in Slytherin if she wasn't so bloody smart, I swear it. She wants nothing more than to sink her overlong claws into every guy she comes across that she deems hot enough for her. Frankly, I don't understand how James can't see right through her."

"Are you sure we're talking of the same person?" asked Alice tentatively. "James described an entirely different girl."

Lina nodded. "Same one. I can just . . . I dunno, but I know it's her."

"Why do you hate her so much?"

"Do you remember my boyfriend in fifth year? His name was Danny Richards." Lina looked away, biting her lip. "Well, we were serious for a while – a few months, actually. Longest relationship I've ever been in. Anyway, we had been together for six months and I – uh, you know – took our relationship a step further. I slept with him. The next night, I catch him and Hammond – well – _together_. You know what I mean. I was devastated that Danny would hurt me like that, because I honestly didn't think he was capable of something that . . . cruel. So, I did a bit of investigating."

Lina turned to the redhead. "Turns out, Danny wasn't capable of something that evil – not fully, at least. She played a part in it. Okay, you know how good she looks, right? Well, I guess she started coming onto him and he couldn't help it. I have a few experiences with the powers of seduction, and they seemed to work miracles on Danny. Miracles for Hammond, anyway."

"That's horrible!"

"I know," said Lina. "It gets worse, actually. You all know my fifth year wasn't exactly my best year ever. It was _bad_. Hammond started this rumor about me being a slut, started going on and on about how I'D stolen HER boyfriend by offering – well, myself. An absolute lie, of course – I don't even think she had a boyfriend then – but everyone believed it. You were the only ones who stuck by me through all of that year."

The girls nodded; the memories of Lina's misery that year were fresh in their minds as though they had occurred only yesterday. Her reputation had been trashed, and the new one attracted some decidedly unsatisfactory people. Still, Lina – being the tough individual that she was – managed to get through it all.

"I'm just worried that she's doing the same thing with James," said Lina. "If she doesn't have an ulterior motive for dating him, I'll eat my toe."

"I'm sure she does, too," said Lily in agreement. "You should have heard the things she told me during the tryouts . . ." She paused a moment to give Chauncey the password and waited to go on until the scowling painting had closed firmly behind them.

Lina turned on her. "Okay, Lils, what did she say? This could give us an important clue to what she was really hoping to get out of this relationship."

"Well, nothing much, really." Lily shrugged. "It just irritated me. I was reading, and she sat down next to me, acting all nice and cheery and junk. She asked me my name and I told her, and she sort of tensed up a bit. It was subtle, but I could tell. So, me, being the idiot that I am, asked her how long she and Potter had been dating. She tells me almost three weeks and then starts in on a tangent about his 'magnificent' personality. Then she goes on to say that he was too good for anyone but her, and that Potter was wrapped around her finger too tightly to make a move on anyone else."

Lina glared at the smoldering embers in the fireplace and muttered a few choice words underneath her breath.

For once, Lily didn't bother to tell her off.

"Well," began Alice hesitantly, "I _haven't _seen him going around with those stupid pick-up lines he used to use. It's almost like . . . I dunno, that he's given up on it. Either that, or Hammond is telling the truth and he's dedicated himself to one girl now."

"Yeah, that would be the day," commented Lily disdainfully. "James Potter making a commitment to one girl. Uh-huh. Call me when hell freezes over and the sky turns neon green and I might believe you."

"But Lily, I really haven't seen —"

"That's because you don't share a common room with him!" snapped Lily. "I do, and I can honestly tell you that he's made more moves on me than I can count. Even now, while he's dating Hammond. He even told me about her once."

Lina looked mildly offended. "Why haven't I heard any of this? You know that I'm horribly nosy about your personal life."

"Well, seeing as I haven't seen you in forever, I'm guessing it would be next to impossible to explain everything to you in detail. And yeah, I know you're nosy."

"I want to hear about at least one of these situations," said Lina. "You owe me that much."

Lily sighed and racked her brains, but her thoughts seemed to all be centering around one episode.

"Um, okay. It was a couple of nights ago, I believe. Potter's dad Flooed over to talk to us about – well, I already told you about that, didn't I?"

"Yeah, during Charms. Funny how you had time to mention that and not all of this."

"Well, that was a bit more important at the time," said Lily. "Anyway, before his dad got there, we – uh, we —"

"You what?" asked Lina with a very Sirius-like grin. "You kissed him, didn't you?"

"No! Well . . . almost."

"You did _what_?" Alice and Emma screeched in unison. Lily cringed.

Lina blinked. "I was only joking. I didn't think you two had actually . . . Okay, tell me all about it! Well, leaving out the gross details, of course . . ."

"What d'you mean by, 'almost' kissed?" asked Emma.

Lily covered her annoyance with a heavy sigh. "I mean that we didn't actually kiss, but we came close. Really close. And you know, I'd like to say it was disgusting, but . . ."

"But you liked it," said Lina knowledgeably. "Lils, admit it. You're falling for him, and you're falling fast and hard."

"I am not! I'm just . . . insecure, that's all. Besides, Potter already has a girlfriend, and I'm on the lookout for a boyfriend."

"You are?

"Yeah. I mean, if Pot-uh, I mean —"

Emma smiled. "You're looking for a boyfriend to get back at James, aren't you? You think that if he can have a girlfriend, then you sure as hell can have a boyfriend. So basically, you're doing it out of spite."

"No! No, I'm not! Oh, I'm just sick of feeling lonely. I need . . . I need an escape. Someone to help me forget all the horrible things, and just focus on the good. Do you understand?"

As Lily looked at the warm smiles, she felt – for once in her life – as though she were exactly where she was supposed to be.

"Oh!" said Lina suddenly. "Speaking of boyfriends, I heard from Chris this morning!"

Alice, Lily, and Emma exchanged blank looks. "Chris?"

"Chris Matison! Remember? That guy from America?" Lina sighed. "C'mon, guys, I showed you his picture! You can't've forgotten it already!"

"OH! _That _Chris!" said Emma loudly as Lily and Alice made noncommital noises of realization. "I know who you're talking about now!"

"Well, what did he say?"

"Did he send it by muggle post or something?" asked Lily thoughtfully. "I thought you said he was a muggle."

"It's all here," said Lina. "Just read it."

Lina reached into the pocket of her robe and extracted a folded piece of paper, which she smoothed out and laid on the table for the others to read.

_Lina-Love,_

_Okay, I know you're probably wondering: What am I, Chris Matison, son of a prominent lawyer and a school teacher, doing writing to you via owl? I'm non-magic, right? Wrong._

_My grandmother possessed magical abilities such as the kind you're used to, but the trait wasn't passed on to my mother. It seems to have landed on me, though. Having lived around magic for so long (my grandmother is still alive), I could sense some traces of it on you. Otherwise I wouldn't have risked this letter._

_I go to the Valeda Academy for Wizards in Kansas. I have since I reached age ten, the acceptance year._

_I have some exciting news for you. My school and three others around the district have earned up enough money to do something we've always wanted to: Take tours of different magical schools in Europe. Guess what? Hogwarts is on our list! I'm coming to see you! Isn't that wonderful? We're leaving the fifth of next month (we're Flooing over). _

_How is life in Britain? How goes school? Friends? Family? _

_Miss you terribly. Write back ASAP!_

_Yours,_

_Chris_

"Isn't that wonderful?" Lina gushed. "He's coming to visit Hogwarts! You'll get to meet him, and I'll get to see him again!"

"Lina-Love?" repeated Emma incredulously. Lily sniggered. "Don't you think that's just a tad bit corny?"

"No," said Lina haughtily. "I think it's cute."

"You didn't pick up any signs at all that he was magical?" she asked, changing the subject before Emma and Lina could begin arguing, as was normal for the two to do. "All that time together and you didn't notice anything out-of-the-ordinary?"

Lina shook her head. "No. If I had, I would've owled him awhile ago. You know what? I could probably Apparate over to the States to see him during our Hogsmeade visits or something."

"You wouldn't be able to," said Lily. "First, you need to be able to picture the place you're Apparating to. As you've already been there, that wouldn't be too bad. Second, the professors have Hogsmeade wired. Anything looks suspicious – and Apparating definitely counts as suspicious – and they'll have us all back to Hogwarts before you can bring the image to mind. Third, the distance you're Apparating severely affects your health. Apparating from here to London would be no problem; you'd just feel a bit tired after word, is all. But Apparating all the way to the States would drain you of all your powers for a long time, and I've read that isn't fun."

"You're such a stick in the mud, Lils."

"Sorry. I'm just telling you why it would be a bad idea."

"I know," said Lina. "I probably couldn't Apparate that far anyway. So, switching topics, what's going on lately with the Death Eaters?"

Alice shrugged. "It's hard to tell. Mum and dad keep me as informed as possible about recent developments, but even they keep stuff from me. Stuff they're afraid for me to hear."

"N-no deaths, then?"

"Not that I'm aware of, but probably."

Lily sighed. "Don't you just wished they would go away? We were fine without the threat of death everywhere we went."

"Oh, I know," said Emma. "And the worst part is, probably half of the people in Slytherin that we know and trust – though that's still a small number – will turn-tail and join up with their parents. They'll probably become Death Eaters when they're older, too."

Without warning, an image of the Slytherin table at the Great Feast drifted to the surface of her mind. She watched helplessly as their friendly stances shifted to those of outright malice, faces unreadable due to the black masks, their eyes sparkling with evil intent as they massacred the other students with brutal, unfeeling force. She shivered and banished the image.

_No, _she thought, _they won't become Death Eaters. At least some of them have to realize the horror associated with that group. Some of them have to be smart. They've proven to the world that they're better than that. At least some of them have._

Still, her confidence was edged with doubt and she wondered if, someday, those same eyes would be glaring out at her through the holes in those dreaded masks.

_What a horrible future. But if they choose it, then I suppose that's their decision._

**A.N. — **Lame ending, I know. It was better when I had Regulus in here, but hey, what're you gonna do?

Sorry about that massive Author's Note at the beginning. When I start to type, I really can't stop, as you're all undoubtably figuring out.

Hey, did any of you get snow? I'm looking out my window and all I can see is white. Solid white. And this is a pretty high window. It's really cool!

_**Kudos to all my completely AWESOME reviewers! You rock!!!**_

**TickleMepInk21: **I'm glad you liked it! Thanks so much for reviewing!

**An angel on ice: **Glad you liked what partial bit of the Quidditch Trials I added in there. ;) An axe and an angry axe murderer? Isn't that a bit brutal? Lol, I know where you're coming from. (Grins evilly) I can't tell you who Lily's boyfriend is going to be. I think Diggory's used a little too much, but if you like it, say so! And if she started dating one of the marauders, I think James might be sent to Azkaban for murdering one of his best friends. Just a guess. ;) And OMG, if she was dating Binns, I would drop this fic RIGHT HERE! Now that's a scary thought, huh, Lily dating Binns? Shudders. Thanks so much for your review!

**animallover: **I'm glad you like my story. Thank you for the info on the grammar stuff. Do you know if it's the same with, for example:

"You have no idea what you're talking about. That is a thing of the 'past.'"

Or is it,

"You have no idea what you're talking about. That's a thing of the 'past'."

The first way looks better to me, but I didn't know. Thanks for reviewing, though!

**Eclaire W: **My computer wouldn't let me capitalize the "C" in your penname! Darn it! But you know what I meant. I'm trying not to make her seem like a total ditz – in fact, I was trying to make her seem rather intelligent in an evil, manipulating sort of way. I don't know if I conveyed that correctly, but hopefully it'll become more apparent in the later chapters. I'm glad you like it! And thanks for the advice about the grammar! Can you check out my response to animallover's review? Do you know that one? Thanks, though!!

**Marauders rox: **Is it a good story? Glad you think so! I'm so happy you like my story! Thanks for reviewing!!

**Blueholly: **Yay! I got a goldstar! (Does a little happy dance around computer.) The missing "s" at the end of "Species" was supposed to be missing, but I went back and changed it anyway in case it confused anyone else. So thanx for pointing that out! And yeah, Norah is a "character" – in both senses of the word! Thanks for the review!!

**JJ: **Have I told you how completely amazing you are? I think you've reviewed EVERY chapter so far!!! Now that's cool. ;) Do you like the way I'm portraying Norah, or is she a bit . . . much? I can't tell you who Lily's bf will be (evil grins and maniacal laughter). Just have to read and find out! And, it might go that way, with both trying to make the other jealous. Or maybe not. Dunno. Haven't made up my mind yet. Thanks for reviewing!!


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